BOOK REVIEW: SADIE BY COURTNEY SUMMERS

Title: Sadie
Author: Courtney Summers
Genre: Mystery, Young Adult

Published on: September 4, 2018 by St. Martin's Press

A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial-like podcast following the clues she's left behind.

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 meager 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.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

This is a book I’d been looking forward to reading. It has overwhelmingly positive reviews, so I wanted to see what it was about. Sadie is the story of the titular character, Sadie Hunter. She’s a nineteen-year-old girl who has gone missing. A short while ago, Sadie’s younger sister Mattie was murdered. Sadie was devastated afterward, as she loved Mattie more than anyone else in the world. After the police fail to d
eliver results, Sadie goes after the killer herself.

Most of the book is told from Sadie’s point of view. There’s a certain trait she has: Sadie has a stutter. She was never able to grow out of it. Because of it, Sadie isn’t a very open person. She’s self-conscious and rather introverted. During her hunt, Sadie isn’t afraid to talk to people, though. She must do it if she wants to get answers. Most people don’t think much of Sadie’s stutter, though. I don’t think I recall a single person who made fun of her for it.

Several chapters of the book are told from another character’s point of view. He’s West McCray, a radio show host. When he finds out about Sadie, McCray feels compelled to track her down. McCray creates a new radio show titled “The Girls,” where he tells Sadie’s story to the world. He also uses it to announce updates about his investigation. McCray is months behind Sadie, though. I wondered whether he’d manage to catch up to her. McCray’s chapters are also formatted as podcast episode scripts. This was quite novel to me. The episodes were intriguing, too. It was interesting to read about McCray interviewing people Sadie met during her quest.

Sadie spends the book following clues to find Mattie’s killer. She knows him only as Keith. I was a bit confused through most of the book’s first chapters, though. I didn’t know why Sadie was so sure Keith murdered Mattie. Perhaps I missed something. All that the reader (and Sadie) knows is that Mattie hitched a ride in someone’s truck and wound up dead. Maybe Sadie recognized the truck, which was recovered. Anyway, Sadie works to track down Keith. With so little to go on, it’s a wonder how she’ll manage to do it. Sadie finds the right people, though, and slowly she gets closer to her quarry.

At one point it seems Sadie is tempted to stay put in one of the towns she visits. Sadie grew up in a dead-end small town and lived in poverty. When Sadie visits a nicer city to bump into some people she’s after, she almost wishes she could stay. The people she sought are students her own age. Sadie seems to make a connection with one of them. It would be good if something more comes of it. Sadie definitely deserves a happy ending.

Sadie was a riveting book. I enjoyed every chapter, feeling eager to see where Sadie would go next. It’s impossible not to root for her. Sadie is a girl who’s had a hard life and who suffered a terrible loss. I hoped that things would turn out well for her in the end. She deserves to go on with her life. I won't spoil Sadie's fate, but the ending...it might leave you wanting more. Not that the story is incomplete, though. I feel the author does justice to the story. I highly recommend this book.

My rating: ★★★★

4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!