Fueled only by revenge, Sadie sets out to kill her sister’s murderer. Worried about her missing granddaughter, Sadie’s grandmother enlists the help of a true-crime podcast to find Sadie. Alternating between Sadie’s perspective and the true-crime podcast, the reader learns about Sadie and what happened to her.
I rate Sadie five stars. The writing style and characters work hand-in-hand. There is Sadie, a girl who is forced to grow up quickly in order to care for her younger sister, Mattie. Raising a kid while still being a kid yourself is hard, especially in a town like Cold Creek, Colorado, which has little opportunity and is in the middle of nowhere. Sadie drops out of high school and works a minimum-wage job to provide for herself and Mattie. While these burdens might turn some bitter, Sadie loves Mattie and would do anything for her. Mattie becomes Sadie’s purpose in life, and when Mattie is killed, Sadie is left empty.
The writing style not only perfectly describes Sadie, but all the other characters too. This is not a happy book; all the characters have problems. Throughout the book, the reader encounters runaways, single mothers, drug addicts, and sketchy characters. The writing style describes them perfectly, but not by directly describing their woes. Instead, the writing manages to subtly – yet clearly – describe these characters’ problems. For example, the author alludes to – but never outright describes – the sexual and physical abuse Sadie endures as a child.
Also, the narrative of the podcast is just as interesting as Sadie’s narrative. I thought the podcast chapters would be boring, but they are not.
This book is so much more than I expected it to be. I expected it to be about Sadie, but it isn’t. This book shows all people who suffer, not just Sadie.
This is a mature Young Adult book. I am 15 and felt ready for this book. Readers should know it deals with topics like drugs and sexual abuse. I highly recommend this book because it shows the ugliness in the lives of those less fortunate than we are. I think all teens should read this book at some point.