Sadie by Courtney Summers / Review

*ARC provided by Wednesday Books*

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Release: 9.4.18

Synopsis:
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.
--
Sadie by Courtney Summers is a riveting thriller book that kept me reading until the very ending. Unlike other mystery YA thrillers that dive into the cliche of the genre, Sadie has two perspectives. One from a podcast by titled The Girls, that tells the story of the story which you are reading. With the popularity of mystery podcasts, I thought this was a clever way to tell the story through Sadie's eyes and through this new medium that I personally enjoy.

The title character Sadie is searching for her missing younger sister, Mattie, and as someone who has a younger sister, I really empathized with her. Sadie goes in search of her missing sister and while on her search, we learn of secrets that have plagued not only her sister and their mother, Claire, but herself as well.

More than a YA thriller, Sadie is about family and love at its core. It makes you think of the lengths you'd go to not only find your loved one, but what you'd do for justice. From traveling cross country and meeting shady people, to getting beaten and confronting her sister's potential murderer, Sadie is a testimony of a sister bond. The premise isn't original, but the character development is. I enjoyed how well written Sadie is and how the supporting characters mesh well into finding out what happened to Mattie. Another tidbit about Sadie that I haven't read in books was that she has a stutter. I thought it was interesting that Summers made this a fact about Sadie.

The ending was open-ended in a way, with the book closing with the podcast. I wanted to know from Sadie what happened to her and if she's still alive.

Nonetheless, Courtney Summers is definitely an author that I'm going to keep my eye on.
--
In addition to the book, it of course has a podcast. It's definitely a great way to listen to the podcast and then pause to read Sadie's chapters. Loved how integrated this book is!

- D

Buy: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Podcast: The Girls: Find Sadie