Sadie by Courtney Summers Book Review

So I’ve been trying to write this review for months now, it has taken me SO long to be able to convey just how surprising and great I found this book. Finally, finally, here is my review.

Goodreads Blurb:

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Rating:  ★★★★★(4.5/5)

At the time that I read this, I was going through another phase of fangirling over the subscription service Scribd which is an amazing service that I wish I could afford constantly because it gives you such an extensive range of YA audiobooks.  Lol not sponsored; audiobooks are generally too expensive for me to buy and audible is more expensive too, not to mention that I generally prefer to read physical or kindle books. I’m still not someone that’s accustomed to being read to, maybe cause I’m more of a control freak or cause I’m a very visual person – I don’t know but I finally got into another Scribd audiobook mood.

I had gotten bored from the audiobook I had started and I was looking for a short audiobook that would actually keep my attention. Sadie caught my eye because it wasn’t super hyped up but I had heard how the book was amazing and way better on audio because it had a full cast. Other than that I had no idea what it was about. I know from listening bits and bots of the Illuminae audiobook and having only read single narrated audiobooks before that a full cast is always and I mean always, an amazing experience that completely enhances your reading.

As you would’ve read from the blurb, this book is about a young girl, Sadie, who hasn’t had the greatest life and is trying to avenge her deceased sister. While trying to bring justice to her killer, a podcast is quite literally trying to follow her footsteps to be able to find her and also find out the truth before her sister’s death.

As a character, I’m not a fan of Sadie but her role in the book was written amazingly well. She’s such a strong young woman who is so determined to do everything to find who killed her sister. Her deducting skills and her tenacity was written well and I never felt out of touch or got too bored when she was explaining her backstory and setting the scene throughout the novel. Even though I wasn’t a fan of her character, I learnt so much and cared so much that at many parts, I was on the verge of crying – casually clutching my earphones waiting to hear the end.

In terms of writing & cohesion, I have to say that this book was 100% a well-written thriller because it showed me instead of told me – so many details that honestly had me on the edge of my metaphorical seat. The action in this was unexpected and it was truly gripping in the sense that you wanted to hear more, you needed to know what happened next and you were also constantly guessing.

Having the podcast dialogue weaved in between the chapters with her point of view was even better. The full cast definitely created a great experience in how I read this and I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed this story nearly as much had I read the physical book instead. This book was just made for audio. I loved the podcast side of the book, sometimes more than Sadie’s perspective because it was so succinct and logical. I personally much preferred the narrator for West McCray compared to Sadie’s since his voice sounded exactly what a radio broadcaster or podcaster would which makes sense.

The ending of this book is probably the most controversial part of it. I won’t spoil it but it definitely leaves you wanting more. I admit that it made me a little angry, I was in denial and a tad bitter but at the end of the day, I thought it was very realistic and made this story feel even more authentic. It’s sad but this could be a real story and it makes me a little emotional just thinking about it.

Overall, it was a stellar novel and I can’t wait to read more from Courtney Summers, especially in that format. I hope we get a sequel but I doubt it but damn, I highly recommend this book – especially in audiobook format!

Until next time,