I was really excited when I got approved to read an ARC of Sadie. Courtney Summers has been one of my favourite authors since she wrote This is Not a Test and I have read every single one of her novels. Summers is phenomenal at writing realistic young adult characters. Her characters are raw and honest. They’re never a caricature of teens or what adults perceive teens to be like and fail at portraying them. Summers also conveys emotions so viscerally that I actually feel like it hurts to read her books. She doesn’t shy away from difficult topics and she has a way of ending her books so it’s incredibly realistic and not all neat and tidy.

Sadie encompasses all of the great things I love about Summers’ novels. Sadie Hunter is a great character. She’s a high school drop out, she has a stutter, and she comes from a very difficult background. But she is also extremely driven by her love for her sister, Mattie, and she doesn’t let her shortcomings deter her from trying to hunt down her sister’s killer. It’s easy to get swallowed up into Sadie’s emotions and experiences, and if this were a book just about Sadie, it would be pretty difficult to get through because of what she’s endured.

In between Sadie’s chapters, there are transcripts of a podcast called The Girls by West McCray. The Girls follows West’s journey as he tries to find the truth about Sadie, who has gone missing since her sister’s death. I love when books include different mediums and the podcast was really well done. It builds suspense and it also reveals the outsider’s perspective of Sadie. I also liked how it gave more insight on the minor characters in Sadie’s life and how she impacted the people she came across.

While the cover is beautiful and looks more light-hearted compared to Summers’ other novels, the text on the cover is a key giveaway that this book will not be what you expect. It’s captivating, heart-wrenching, and bone-chilling. This may be a new contender for my favourite novel from Summers.

Courtney Summers really did it again. Sadie was nothing short of great.
Sadie, guilt stricken over her younger sister's death, sets off to make things right, going off on a man hunt to find her sister's killer.
Sadie's first person narrative was weaved in with a television show that showed the search for Sadie, which really gave it an added intensity. On one hand, the reader is thrown into the excitement of Sadie's world, and on the other hand, they are tangled up in the excitement in the search for Sadie. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat, and it was definitely a Can't-Put-Down type of book.
It was equally heart-wrenching and exciting. Sadie's story, as terrible as it was, was told beautifully by Summers who really captured the image of a young girl struggling with the aftermath of abuse and tragedy. Her descriptive writing really allowed the reader to understand who Sadie was and where Sadie was, taking me right into the book.

Plain and simple, this book was like a punch in the gut. It's not original of me to compare Sadie to The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (one of my favorite reads of 2017, which, too, left me feeling like I'd had the wind knocked out of me), but I can't not offer that comparison. Even so, Sadie can absolutely stand on its own merit, which is why it earned 5 stars from me.

The premise of this book was interesting enough to grab my attention and make me want to read it as soon as possible, even if I wasn't already a Courtney Summers fan. My murderino heart sang when I saw that Sadie's story is told largely in the form of a podcast aiming to track her down after her disappearance. And just that aspect alone made this book great- its chapters alternated, for the most part, between transcripts of the podcast itself, and narrative from Sadie's point of view. This was something I'd never seen done before, and loved! I could practically hear West McCray's voice emanating from my Kindle like I was listening to a real actual podcast (and I'm curious to know whether there's going to be an audiobook, because if so, I'd love to hear how they treat the podcast chapters!).

Going into this book, especially as someone who loved The Female of the Species so much, I realize now that I expected Sadie to be a lot different than it was. I expected we'd see Sadie go through step after step of her mission for revenge to its ultimate culmination and that that would be the focus. Instead, this dark, gritty, sad, twisted story was somehow one of love. Chapter after chapter we gain more and more insight into Sadie's troubled (to say the least) past, her tragic upbringing and every horrible detail that contributed to her ending up where or how she did. It's difficult to stomach, at times. But even in the face of all that darkness, Sadie is fueled by her love for her sister, Mattie, and though she can't bring Mattie back, we learn that Sadie's love is still enough to ensure that she will stop at nothing to make things right.

I really enjoyed the characterization throughout this book. I found myself rooting for Sadie with a fierceness, of course, but I was also surprised to find myself rooting for her mother by the end, although at face value Sadie's mother is not a good person whatsoever. I even enjoyed getting to know West McCray himself, although it's a bit more tricky with him- we are only privy to his words on the podcast, where he is, of course, rarely talking about himself. But we're given little kernels of information about him throughout the course of the podcast (side note: more casually gay characters in books, please!), and each one of these endears him to us that much more.

The ending of Sadie is tough, but not in the way that you might think. If you're looking for a story that will wrap up neatly by the end and answer all of your questions, this is not the book for you. But honestly? I appreciated that more than if it had wrapped up neatly. After being taken on such a heartbreaking journey, one that kept me up until the wee hours of the morning because I needed to know what happened next, I finished Sadie with a small glimmer of hope. And that alone, really, was all I could've wanted.

4.5 stars. This was really good, written in two POVs--one in podcast format and one in Sadie's. It was interesting to watch the story unfold and follow Sadie on her journey for justice. I would have liked a more definitive ending, but that happens a lot (personal preference, I guess). I highly recommend this and plan to read more from this author.

I started this book on a Thursday night, intending it to be my weekend read. I was done by Friday evening. To put this into better perspective, I'm a Mom of 4 -- I was reading between everything. A little bit heartbreaking but such an unexpected page turner! I do not want to delve into the plot here because I don't want to spoil it for anyone but Sadie was such an endearing heroine. A sad soul but determined to not only avenge but to prevent future heartbreak for others no matter the cost. This book is highly recommended.

I knew that this book would be heartbreaking. I did not know how much it would break me. Sadie was such an incredible book. But all kinds of painful too. Real and honest and gutting. Five stars to this stunning book. Though I am not sure my heart will survive it. I shall try my best to share the reasons for why I loved this book.

First I will start by saying that I adore Courtney. She is all kinds of sweet, and her books are so good. I had hoped I would love Sadie, and I am so happy that I did so. I felt that her All the Rage book was so important. I think that Sadie is even more so. These two books are heartbreaking. And evil. But so very important too.

I very much loved the writing in this book. So happy about that. It is told in two ways. First from the point of view of Sadie. And as a radio show, mostly told by a man named West. I have not read a book like this before, written in that way, and it was awesome to do so. It was written well. And I was so caught up in this story. I loved reading from Sadie. But I loved reading about the radio show too. Sadie's part of the story is her journey, searching for the person who killed her little sister. Sadie is nineteen, her sister, Mattie, was thirteen. Her death was brutal. And that breaks my heart so much. It was not described, which was good. But oh, my poor heart. This book tells the story about Sadie. It shows her past and her present, how she is searching for a killer.

There is so much that I loved about this book. Though I should say that I mostly feel ruined right now, after having finished this book. It was brutal. Not graphic, but real. And it was pretty bad to read about. Yet important. And I loved every moment of it. Despite this weird feeling in my stomach right now. Ahh. Because this book killed me a little. And I am not sure I will ever forget about it. Getting to know Sadie ruined me. But I loved it too. She was the most amazing girl. Brave and loving and just so very strong.

I'm not going to say that much about what happens in this book. But I will mention a little of it. Sadie has been taking care of her little sister ever since she was born. They have lived with their mother, until she ran away when Mattie was ten. Their mother was a drug addict. And she did not care about Sadie at all. Which broke my heart. Because Sadie was the sweetest child. Sniffs. So Sadie was taking care of Mattie, from when she herself was just six years old. She was her mother. Sadie loved her more than anything.

But then Mattie died, age thirteen. In such an awful way. And the killer was not found. Sadie was broken after that. There are some scenes sharing those moments, and it hurt my heart a lot. This poor girl. Ahh. I loved how Sadie had always taken care of Mattie. They argued sometimes, sure, but they were the best sisters and I just loved reading about them. This book is about Sadie leaving home to find Mattie's killer. Because she is very sure that she knows who he is. Ahh. But the search for him is not going to be easy.

This book takes place in a few different towns, and I liked reading about all the different places Sadie went to. All the things that she learned. It was so painful. But so good too, kind of. And learning of her past broke me so much. I just loved Sadie. And want the very best for her. The other point of view of this book is the radio show, taking place a few months after Sadie left home, as she is missing, and people are trying to find her, and figure out her story. It was all just so amazing to read about. But so so painful.

This book has no romance. While I always want romance in my books, and while I felt like there could have been a romance in this one too, I'm very much okay with there not being one. Because Sadie was such a short book, ack. So much happens. Yet I wanted more more more. I wish the ending had been a little longer, with a few more details. Ack. I cannot help but wish for a sequel. I know it will not happen, but I want one. So much. No romance in this book, but that was okay. Though I really wanted that for Sadie.

The pain in this book was personal to me, in a way. I was abused in the worst way by my father when I was a child. Not as bad as what happened in this book, but bad enough. I do not remember the details of it anymore, and I am glad for that. It took place for years, until my mom found out about it, and he got put in jail. But it ruined my life in so many ways. And reading Sadie made my heart hurt so much. Because of how personal it was. Because of how real these stories were. And Courtney wrote this book so very well.

There is so much that I could say about this book. But I'm trying not to write too much about it. I just wish it had been a little bit longer. But gosh, Sadie was an incredible book. And I cannot wait to read whatever Courtney is writing next. She is amazing. But oh, I do not want to let Sadie go. I need to know more about this precious girl. But yeah, my heart is a little broken over this book too. Huge thank you to St. Martin's Press for approving my request to read this book early via Netgalley. So glad I got the chance to read it.

Sadie ended up being such an amazing book for me. All kinds of heartbreaking. It gutted me. But I loved it so. Getting to know Sadie was the best, though I do not think my heart will ever stop hurting for her. The ending ruined me a little too. I need to know this one detail. And I need to know it so badly. Oh. Sadie was perfection, though. And you are all going to love this book. It is dark. But it is worth it. And it is a book that I think everyone should read. It's honest and dark and heartbreaking yet it has a few happy moments too.

4.5 stars! I really enjoyed this story - it’s told in alternating perspectives from Sadie, a girl who has just lost her sister and has run away looking for justice for her sister, Mattie and from a podcast called The Girls, which is investigating the disappearance of Sadie herself! I have such an affinity for this style of storytelling ( I absolutely loved Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber last year!) and I think Courtney Summer did a wonderful job writing the podcast and Sadie’s perspective. I have a feeling this one is going to be a huge hit in September!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.