BOOK REVIEW: SADIE

Family - Grief of Loss - Accepting yourself - Murder Mystery

Author: Courtney Summers

Genre: Murder Mystery

Page Count: 308

Trigger Warnings: Dysfunctional Families, Alcoholics/ Drug addicts, Murder and violent scenes

"It'll heal ugly. But most things do.”

“People don't change. They just get better at hiding who they really are.”

"And so it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl."

Sadie by Courtney Summers follows a high school girl named Sadie as she walks through life with the heavy tragedy of the loss of her sister, Mattie. Having already a frightful home life, with her mother being an alcoholic and the identity of her father uncertain, among many other things, Sadie's life was already at a low point. But with the death of her sister, the only person she was sure she loved, Sadie went off the hinges as she mentally and physically prepared herself to kill the man she was sure murdered her sister. In this book, we see Sadie's struggles as she tries to track down this man and the many memories that associate with him, as well as a transcript of a podcast that hunts down Sadie in hopes of bringing her home safely.

This book splintered my heart, leaving me with a sense of reminiscence mixed with hurt, as my pain for Sadie goes beyond the lengths. This book is overbearingly real, connecting to the darker issues in our society and the effect they have on people, especially younger ones such as teens and young adults. This author left me in a state that is genuinely dejected, that I still have yet to overcome.

Courtney Summer's novel proved to be just as immersive as intricated, putting aside the fact that it took a while to get started in the beginning. Every scene seems to have some sort of purpose, whether to let us delve deeper into Sadie's head, or to create a new clue that throws us off our tracks as to who Sadie's father might be, and makes us hang on to the edge of our seats in anticipation. The memories and flashbacks that Sadie experiences add a layer of depth to the novel, as well as reasoning, giving us insight into why Sadie is the way she is. Like many others, Sadie's childhood shaped much of who she is, but unlike others, it wasn't exactly filled with many memories worth reminiscing. Because of this, Sadie seemed to be wise beyond her years, and more mature and responsible than the average child growing up, having to learn about the difficulties of life at an early age. The ending of the book is still something I think about to this day, as Summers leaves the readers guessing what might happen to Sadie, all while finishing the story and keeping it succinct. Despite the many clues hidden between the lines as to who might have murdered Mattie loitered in the novel, Summers still knows how to create an interacting and interesting story without making it at all predictable.

Sadie is unlike any other character I've read about -- relatable while still holding true to herself. As aforementioned, we can see from the very beginning of this book, how Sadie's constant struggle at home has matured her quicker than others and taken a toll on her short-lived childhood. With her irresponsible mother out of home, Sadie feels she is the only person left to take care of Mattie, her younger sister, and takes many risks to do so, such as dropping out of high school and getting a job. Sadie is a character feels uniquely real, and that is because of the fact that Courtney Summers is not afraid to present Sadie as the whole person she is, with all that she has to offer, and the flaws that accompany her. Sadie has many intricated and reasonable flaws that accompany the person she is today, and many of these come from the damaging life at home she had, as well as the cloud of grief that veils her sight of what is right from what is wrong. While she has incredible focus and determination on a goal, we can see her slipping up in the book and getting driven away from reality, letting herself believe none of this happened. She is also quick to make assumptions about people, and many of her actions are chaotic and not thought through, driven by her emotions. With the capacity of mistakes withholding her, Sadie feels more human than fictional, and that creates a bond between her and the reader as one reads the book.

This book, palpably, delves into heavier topics, such as alcohol and drug substances, and how their use can ruin not only one's life, but as well as the loved ones around them. This book also talks about murder and the grief of loss, as this is the root of many of Sadie's chaotic actions and thought process. Though there is a myriad of other topics that this book touches on, these are the main ones, and from this, we can already see this book covers a large, but looming aspect of many other's lives. However, despite this dark mystique, this book brings more to the table. This book teaches me that the past doesn't have to define who I am in the future, as Sadie has always let the past rob her of her present moment, and because of this, she is always living in her head. This book also taught me, that as humans, we are allowed to make mistakes, and no matter how it seems, we can counter back from them if we put forth the effort to do so. This novel also brings a heavier, and uncovered lesson to the table, and that is that we have to be willing to experience pain to move on. With the death of Sadie's sister, the premise of the book, Sadie kept pushing down her feelings because she had no outlet to let them outpour, and because of this, she finally cracks, devising a plan to kill the murderer of her sister. With this, we can see that everyone, even the toughest of us, have a breaking point, and pushing yourself to this breaking point will only make matters worse. Moving on requires us to feel pain, and by not feeling it, you are only going to prolong the process.

A flawlessly devised book, bringing many lessons of humanity and the understanding of human nature to the table -- a helping hand for anyone at a low point.

Characters: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Pacing: 4/5

Overall: 14/15

Recommended for fans of One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.