Sadie by Courtney Summers–Review

Summary: 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.

Review: 5 stars 

Sadie has been called the best young adult thriller of 2018 and that is a 100% true statement. This story is a horrific one, but it is also incredibly gripping, heart-wrenching and raw. I don’t think I have ever felt this emotionally connected to a thriller novel. Sadie grabbed me by the heart strings and never let me go. I couldn’t read this book fast enough, I never want to set it down. This book grabbed me the way you always hope a book will. This is one of the best books I have read this year and I am so grateful that Macmillan Publishers and Wednesday Books sent me a copy.

Sadie was a character that I connected with right away. Her pain was so raw that I understood her in a way that nobody ever wants to. Sadie’s love and devotion for her sister Mattie broke my heart. The lengths that Sadie went to for Mattie showed how much she truly loved her. Sadie deserved so much more out of this world. What she did for Mattie in this novel is the definition of love in it’s purest form. Sadie was abused, neglected and suffered so horrifically, yet she was able to love so profoundly.

The story switches between Sadie’s point of view to the podcast investigation of her disappearance. This way of pacing the story kept me on the edge of my seat and turning the pages to find out what happened next. It was incredibly hard to put this book down. I’m warning you now, save yourself the frustration of not being able to finish in one setting by making sure you have the time to read the whole thing when you start this book.

The plot was haunting. This is a gut wrenching story, but it is an addicting read. I never knew what would happen next, but I needed to find out. This is an absolute masterpiece of a novel. This book will keep you up late, but it will also stick with you. Sadie is a thriller that would ensnare any reader. This is what storytelling at its best looks like.