“You aren’t supposed to answer violence with more violence but sometimes I think violence is the only answer.” – Sadie
4.5/5
(Spoiler-free review below)
After the brutal death of her younger sister, Mattie, nineteen year old Sadie sets out on a revenge mission to find and punish the man responsible. The book is told in alternating viewpoints: Sadie on her quest to find her sister’s murderer, and West McCray, a podcaster who is looking into Mattie’s murder and Sadie’s subsequent disappearance a few months later.
Although the premise of this book really intrigued me, I struggled to get into it in the beginning. I would get 10-15 pages in and set it down only to wait a week or two before picking it back up. But once I got past my issues with it, I couldn’t put this book down.
I realized that my main issue getting into the story was the podcast chapters. Taking a sensory rich experience like a podcast, with it’s music, sound effects, and tone of voice, and boiling it down to a transcript lost some of it’s dramatic effect. The podcast chapters helped drive the investigation forward but felt flat to me. It wasn’t until after I finished reading the novel that they released the podcast episodes to stream. (The podcast is called The Girls and is linked below.) Now that they are available, I would love to re-read it and listen to the podcasts instead of reading them. Being able to listen to these chapters while I read is an enriched experience that I’m really looking forward to.
Despite my minor issue with the podcast chapters, I absolutely LOVED this story. The characters were broken and flawed and driven, just how I like my characters to be. I was surprised to find out it’s considered a YA (Young Adult) novel due to some heavy issues that get covered; if you’re looking at this for younger readers, read it yourself first or read some spoilers to decide if it’s right for you.
I received this book as an Advanced Readers Copy from Wednesday Books. Along with the book, they occasionally sent additional promotional material to keep me engaged with the story. I received a sample menu from Ray’s Diner and a few polaroid-esque photos, which made handy bookmarks. These additional promotional materials really helped me sink into the story.
Overall, Sadie is a great read and a well paced mystery novel.
Maeryn Stills 