20180818_173804.jpg

Today I have a review of Sadie! I’m sure you’ve seen this book around the blogosphere or Goodreads, and more than likely you’ve noticed the praise showered upon it. All absolutely, positively well-deserved. Please read on and let me introduce you to Sadie, an unforgettable, tenderly drawn character.

My Thoughts:

Sadie’s dad has never been around, and her mom walked out and left her as a teen to raise her younger sister, Mattie. They live in a deserted town in a trailer park where an elderly neighbor tries her best to look in on them but can only do so much. 

One day Mattie is found dead, and Sadie understandably falls apart. But not for long because she finds herself buying a car to go cross country in search of her sister’s killer. She has just a few clues in her arsenal, but she is on his trail. 

The story is told from Sadie’s perspective alternating with West McCray, a radio host recording a podcast while he tries to track Sadie down. Will West catch up to Sadie before something happens to her?

Sadie will absolutely break your heart. But don’t let that stop you from reading her story because she is someone everyone should get to know. So pure of heart, vulnerable and yet tough as nails, steadfast and wily. She is  completely relatable and endearing in that intense vulnerability. She carries a piece of all of us in her character. 

Sadie’s story is vivid and multi-dimensional. You will imagine the podcast is real and that Sadie is out there searching for Mattie, while West is searching for her. I know I did. I wish we could heal all the Sadies of the world so that the generational pain families inflict on one another could have less of a chance of being passed on. Everything about this story is brave, confrontational, brutal, ethereal, and breathtaking. I feel like I saw Sadie’s actual heart on those pages. 

Thank you to Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own. 

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 meagre 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.

Have you read Sadie, or do you plan to? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR