Sadie ~ Courtney Summers
★★★★★
I received this ARC from Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion in any way.
OH MY GOSH
I always forget fear is a conquerable thing but I learn it over and over again and that, I guess, is better than never learning it.
Obligatory Summary
Sadie is a thriller. A very intense thriller. Told in two perspectives—Sadie herself, and West McCray, the host of a radio podcast series—this book chronicles the missing person and murder investigations of two sisters, Sadie and Mattie.
As Sadie travels from city to city in search of the man who killed her sister, West is close on her trail, hunting her down and unraveling the case. Dark secrets are revealed, and you never know what's going to happen next.
And it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl.
The Writing
I was a HUGE fan of the writing. It was deeply personal and extremely atmospheric. I felt a part of the mystery, and lost myself in Sadie's revenge.
The podcast element was super unique—I've never read anything with something like that in it. It was like NPR but actually interesting (sorry, dad).
The mystery itself was expertly crafted. Nothing was given away too early. Nothing was too vague or too detailed. It was mature and profound, but not too gritty or preachy. It shied away from stereotypes, and didn't dumb anything down for the young adult audience. I loved everything about it.
For some people, the future ahead is opportunity. For others, it's only time you haven't met and where I lived, it was only time. You don't waste your breath trying to protect it. You just try to survive it until one day, you don't.
The Characters
Sadie: Strong, resilient, and persistent, Sadie was a powerful protagonist to follow. She is impulsive in her grief, but so realistic. I particularly appreciated her stutter, as it added to her character without pandering.
West: His character arc throughout this book is phenomenal. Starting off as a reluctant journalist, just doing what his boss ordered, he becomes deeply invested in Sadie's story. He wasn't just a placeholder character. He was real, and personal, and wonderful.
May Beth and Claire: I loved these characters. They were so interesting.
Keith and Silas: Oh man. I'm going to kill a man.
There are also a lot of people who you meet along the way, but suffice it to say that they are all great, well rounded, believable, real, flawed characters. I love (and hate in some cases, but in a good way) every single character in this book.
How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you? Sometimes I don't know what I miss more; everything I've lost or everything I never had.
Conclusion
I don't read contemporary. Not really. Not often. But when I do, I read the dark stuff. The real stuff. This is as dark and as real as they get. I truly loved everything about this book. It's depressing, and hopeful, and oh so heartbreaking. I couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved it.
Buy this and read this so we can discuss, mmkay?
Thank you SO MUCH, Macmillan!!! THANK YOU
Buy the book here:
Comments
Post a Comment