Sadie by Courtney Summers

 

When Courtney Summers' Sadie was published back in 2018, it got a lot of positive buzz. It seemed like everyone was reading it and everyone loved it. I, of course, wanted to give it a try as well. Obviously, I never got around to it back then, but it always stuck around in the back of my mind as a book that I really wanted to get to soon. I made it part of my 22 in 2022 Challenge this year, and I finally read it last week.

The plot of the novel switches back and forth between two characters. The first is Sadie, a teenage girl living in a small Colorado town. As the story begins, her younger sister Mattie is brutally murdered, and Sadie believes she knows who is responsible for it. She sets off on a mission of revenge to kill this person, but she ends up disappearing. The woman who has watched over the sisters since their mother abandoned them is frantic with worry and is desperate to find Sadie. She reports her missing to the police, but their investigation turns up nothing. Despairing of ever seeing Sadie again, she approaches a famous radio personality about Mattie's murder and Sadie's disappearance. Her hope is that this person talks about Sadie on the radio, he will get the public interested enough in the case to turn up some clues.

The second character is West McCray, the radio personality who agrees to look into Sadie's case. After successfully tracing the beginning of her journey, he becomes intrigued enough to launch a podcast about it. He follows her trail through several different towns and interviews many people trying to put the pieces of what happened to her together. He comes to care deeply for her and races from lead to lead, hoping to find her safe somewhere.

This novel was very good, and actually deserving of all the hype it received when it came out. The chapters alternate between Sadie and West, with Sadie's chapters consisting of her narrating her journey to find her sister's killer and West's chapters taking the form of his podcast episodes as he traces where she's been. Summers controls the flow of information beautifully between the two voices, with Sadie and West revealing bits and pieces of the story in a way that creates suspense as they come together to present a full picture of what happened for the reader. This is one of those books where the less information you know about it going in, the better, so I'm not going to reveal too much detail here. It was very well-constructed and engaging though, and well worth the read for anyone that enjoys crime stories and mysteries.

It was also very gritty and dark. The subject matter isn't easy, and what happens to the girls could be triggering to some readers. This is definitely a book for older teens and adults. This uncomfortableness made it feel very genuine and dangerous though. I was truly kept on the edge of my seat, both excited for and dreading whatever would come next. The ending was tough, but in a way that felt true to the story. I really enjoyed Sadie's character too. She suffered through a lot and certainly wasn't perfect, but her devotion to her sister and her determination to do right by her memory shone through clearly. She was very easy to root for and well developed. Overall, this was excellent, through and through.

Sadie was one of the best young adult mysteries I have read. Its unique structure and dark plot were incredibly engaging and its messages about love and family were emotionally-charged and felt genuine. I'm glad to have finally gotten around to reading this one!  

Challenge Tally

22 in 2022: 17/22

Total Books Read in 2022: 76