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Sadie

Sadie by Courtney Summers



Synopsis (from Goodreads)
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.



Review
This book was brutal and gut-wrenching and I couldn't put it down.

The story is told with two narratives. The first is from West's point of view, as he's broadcasting on his radio serial, so it reads like a script. His part takes places after the events from Sadie's point of view, so it serves to provide some foreshadowing and also fills in some gaps about what Sadie didn't know. The other perspective is, of course, from Sadie. It's told from her first-person perspective, and we see the reasons behind her movements and the decisions that lead her down the path she takes.

The setting is Colorado, the small towns that are barely hanging on, the lives of the people just trying to survive. A subtle commentary in the background of the story is the people of these places, who are overlooked, forgotten, who just try to give their lives the best they can, even though they make mistakes.

This book deals with some heavy and dark stuff, including child abuse. Nothing is graphic, but there are very clear hints and suggestions about what happened. This is revealed subtly over the course of the book.

The writing is fast-paced and captive. It's not a very long book. I read it in almost one sitting, staying up late because I knew I needed to finish. It is raw and emotional and has stayed with me long after finishing it. I would highly recommend.


Rating
I give this book 4.5 stars.


Details
Genre: YA, Thriller.
Language: Some uses of heavy language.
Sex: References to some dark things but nothing graphic is shown.
Violence: Some graphic violence, other types of violence are alluded to and talked about but never actually seen.

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