Synopsis:
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.
My review:
I remember when this book first came out, and everyone gave it so much love and praise. And now having – finally – read Sadie, I can absolutely see why. Sadie follows the eponymous teen who is searching for her sister’s killer, with every intent to kill him herself, and a podcast reporter trying to uncover the mystery behind Sadie’s disappearance and her journey. Perhaps one of the most compelling books I have read in a long time, Sadie is the sort of book that sears its story into your memory and will stay with you for many days after.
Mystery or a story about a girl?
On the surface, Sadie is a mystery – it’s about the murder of a young girl, the disappearance of a teen, and the whodunit. But I also feel like it isn’t just a mystery; it’s also a story about girls who have disappeared, not just Sadie, but any girl who disappears. The story may begin with the pivotal question of ‘what happened to Sadie?’ as the story progresses and the details of Sadie’s disappearance and her tracks begin to unfold, it becomes clear that Sadie is less about the mystery of Sadie’s disappearance (though that was indeed an important question, even for me as a reader).
Rather, as we begin to learn more about Sadie’s motives, her encounters with people, and the things that she does, we also learn that Sadie wasn’t an enigma or a mystery at all. Led by Sadie’s narrative and followed by West’s investigations, the story becomes increasingly becomes clear that the book is about a teenage girl with a childhood taken forcefully from her, a teenage girl who loved her sister so fiercely and protectively, and a teenage girl who was willing to do anything for her – include find and kill her sister’s killer. Ultimately, a significant point of Sadie is the fragility of youth and innocence, how they can be stolen, and how young girls often pay the price for it.
An alternating narrative that reveals discrepancies in privilege
Sadie is told using alternating narratives: Sadie and her revenge journey to track and ultimately kill her sister’s murderer, and West McCray and his reporting on Sadie, who has gone missing, as he tries to follow her tracks. The story begins with Sadie with one clue of where to find her sister’s killer, and follows her across a long and harrowing journey, following clue after clue after clue, fuelled by the rage she feels but also fuelled by the love she has for her sister, who was her whole world.
Something that dawns on you whilst reading Sadie is the evil that girls, especially young girls, endure at the hands of deceptively ‘good’ appearances, and the way that Summer tells this is utter brilliance. At first, I thought Summers was trying to say that human beings are complex and we can never know what people hide, but the more I thought about it, it was more profound than that. Through Sadie’s narrative, or through the eyes of a young teen girl, we see wickedness in plain sight and cruelty in all its deceptive appearances. Conversely, through West’s narrative, or through the eyes of a cis adult man who had the power to change people’s lives with their reporting, we see the attempts and the scramble to justify the humanity of evil men and how ‘they couldn’t possibly do it, they were nice people’. And I think that’s such an incredibly powerful thing to demonstrate in an alternating narrative: appearances are often very deceiving, afforded mostly to those with privilege, and those with power, prestige, and respect.
Unforgettable and vivid character studies
All of the characters in Sadie were brilliant and such memorable characters. The story was led by an incredible protagonist: Sadie, the nineteen year old girl with a stutter, who seeks vengeance and blood following the death of her sister’s murder. Sadie’s narrative was powerful as she not only wrestles with the trauma of losing her sister and the burdens of her secret, but also with how people perceive her and her stutter. Underneath all her convictions, again, we come to learn that Sadie was just a teenage girl – one that, although justified in her mission, was also deeply flawed, hurt, vulnerable, and craved – and deserved – the love of her family.
As the story and the details of Sadie’s life unfolds, we also learn more about her family and how they played a role in her disappearance. We also come to learn a lot about Mattie, Sadie’s little sister, and the sister-relationship and dynamic between them. We learn about what brought her and Sadie together, and what pulls them apart, and how their alcoholic mother, Claire, shaped the trajectory of their family life and also the girls’ stories. Sadie’s life story and how all things came to be can be mapped out one large web of connection and disconnect – and it’s frightening how simple it appears to be, though how Sadie lives and navigates her life is far from simple. Indeed, the truths uncovered are powerful, gut-wrenching, and heart-breaking.
MY CONCLUSION: RECOMMENDED
Electrifying and poignant, Sadie is an unforgettable and excellent story. Rather than just a mystery, it also provides important and needed discourse on the disappearances of girls – and how it is a worldwide crisis that affects all young people, especially those in vulnerable situations – and how appearances can be incredibly deceiving, particularly more so for those in privileged positions. A powerful book, and one I won’t be forgetting any time soon.
Note: I read this book via audiobook and I cannot recommend it enough! Boasts multiple voice actors, sound effects – the audiobook will make you feel like you’re listening to a real podcast.
Goodreads | Book Depository | My short review on Goodreads
Is this book for you?
Premise in a sentence: A teen attempts to track down her sister’s killer; a reporter tries to follow her tracks.
Perfect for: People who listen to podcasts and enjoy mystery-crime podcasts; readers who enjoy mystery.
Think twice if: Finding closure or a definitive answer in a mystery is important for you to enjoy a book.
Genre: young adult mystery, thriller, crime
Trigger/content warning: blood, physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, paedophilia, substance abuse
Let’s discuss!
Sadie is a rare book that not only lives up to its hype, but actually exceeds it. What a brilliant story, and I think it may be one of my favourite audiobooks of all time. There’s not much else to say about Sadie – it’s an incredible book, and one I recommend for those who can handle its challenge subject matter (see trigger/content warnings above).
- Have you read Sadie? If so, what did you think of it?
- What do you think the ‘point’ of Sadie is? Or, is there a point at all?
- Sadie has a great audiobook production — can you recommend any other books that are told well as an audiobook?
Sadie was one of the best books I’ve ever listened to on audiobook. It was fantastic and gripping. Sadie also has one of the most prolific and frustrating endings I’ve ever encountered, but I was a huge fan of how Summers carried it out.
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Right?! The audiobook was incredible. I was in AWE.
I agree. I’m pretty keen to try her other books now, since Sadie was my first book by Summers. I love her writing style as well.
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This book has been on my wishlist for so long and omg, I really want to read it!
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Yess Jessica!! It’s really good and really lived up to the hype for me. I hope you get to read it!
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This is an absolutely fantastic review and I agree with everything you have said! It’s one of my all-time favourite books!
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Ooh thank you so much!! I definitely see why it’s one of your all-time favourite books. It’s so brilliant. 💛
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Wonderful review CW! I finally read this book in one sitting back in January and honestly, it has stuck with me. It is so haunting and important, and I love the way that Summers crafted the story as a way to discuss the macabre obsession with female trauma. I don’t see the ending open ended at all, it is obvious what happens but I think it is important in the way it is “left open” – so often there is never closure for the girls that go missing.
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Wow, I could not agree more. And yes — “I love the way that Summers crafted the story as a way to discuss the macabre obsession” — YES!!
I completely agree, and I think that’s why I loved the ending, although I also see why people were frustrated by it hahaha
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I‘ve heard a lot about Sadie, but this post really makes me want to read it right this second! It sounds like such an interesting and important book ♥️
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It really is!! I really recommend it. It’s truly wonderful, and I hope you enjoy it. 💛
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Oh my goshhh this sounds so good and I’ve only ever seen positive reviews! The cover is also so gorgeous aaand my school’s library recently got a copy of this soooo I might read it soon!! Does the protagonist’s stutter show up in the audiobook?
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AHHH Julianna, yes!! definitely read it! It’s definitely a solid book and warrants the overwhelming praise imo.
Yes! The narrator does a really good job at portraying the stutter. It’s incredibly well done and emotional as well.
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OOh now I genuinely regret not getting this book during my Christmas splurge last year huhu. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Sadie soon! Thanks for this amazing review ❤
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Haha oh no! Definitely give it a read if you ever get the chance – it’s a great book and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
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I read Sadie and it was amazing! I really feel like Sadie as a main character is so perfect because, though she is well-developed, it almost seems like she could be any missing girl. I also liked the inclusion of a character with a stutter, and I don’t know why I didn’t hear about it until meltotheany mentioned it? Anyways, I loved the audiobook too, though I have listened to only a few audiobooks prior to Sadie, so maybe I don’t really have anything to compare it to.
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I totally agree with your insight, Caitlin!
Yes, I was caught off guard when I heard Sadie speak for the first time (I listened to the audiobook!) and I had no idea as well until I stumbled upon Melanie’s review, which is one of the few that mentions her stutter.
Oh! If you ever want audiobook recommendations, half of my reading is thanks to audiobooks, so I’m happy to offer some recs!
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Wonderful review as always, CW, and one I whole-heartedly agree with. This was one of my favorite reads of last year; it has stuck with me so completely, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it months after having read it. One thing that really struck me was how often Sadie repeats to herself that is not afraid, that she is something to fear instead. But Summers makes it abundantly clear that she is afraid and there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, she’s a young girl navigating a deeply hostile, dangerous environment; the strongest of us can be afraid.
I think Sadie is an ode to missing girls. It’s an ode to girls whose childhoods are taken away from them, who don’t grow up with the privilege of family, who lose things and people no matter how hard they hold onto them. The point is to get the reader to care about one such girl, and then the visceral reaction the reader gets at the end… like… “But… where is she? I loved her, but I don’t know what happened to her.” It’s a stark, shocking, brutal realization then of how the loved ones of these missing girls feel.
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AHHH. Your comment is exactly why you’re one of my favourite book bloggers. I always love your insights. I totally agree with you — we build such a close relationship and investment into Sadie, only for the end of her story to be wrenched away. I really loved the ending tbh, though I understand why so many people were frustrated by it.
“Sadie repeats to herself that is not afraid, that she is something to fear instead. But Summers makes it abundantly clear that she is afraid and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Yes! I totally agree. Heck, when she was at that abandoned house, I barely breathed. I was truly terrified for her.
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My heart gets so warm when I see reviews praising Sadie! It’s one of those books that I truly believe will stay with me my whole life. And, like you, I listened to it on audiobook and, at the end of it, I was bawling my eyes out. I really struggle to talk about it and I need to buy a physical copy to reread it when I feel like I have the emotional stability to go through it again.
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Aww, I totally understand why it hit such a nerve. I definitely shed a tear by the end. It was just so heartbreaking.
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