Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

117 reviews

rmnedder's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Sadie is a fast-paced split narrative novel that had me tuned in from the very start. It's tense and sharp, moving at break-neck speed, with an incredibly well-crafted atmosphere and a complex central character. It manages to handle incredibly challenging material with a surprising amount of grace; along with its themes of loss, it asks us about all the various forms of exploitation we're willing to stomach in our daily lives. The split narrative of Sadie and the podcast is inventive - I love a good chance to play with the form, and the use of the podcast transcript is clever, even if it did leave me longing for more than what's on the page. 

Stomach churning and deeply moving despite (or perhaps because of) its sharp edges, Sadie left me disturbed and uneasy, which is the highest praise I can offer for this kind of book. As always, read the content warnings. This one's a doozy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit and Alcohol

maryconney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

pandora1528's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual assault and Vomit

gracefulxo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book…. oh my gosh this book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Drug abuse, Vomit, and Abandonment

amberacks12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I initially picked this book up to read as my entry for Colorado in a personal Read Across America challenge involving reading one book set in every state. I picked Sadie because I didn’t want to read Stephen King, which I thought would be too dark for me. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into though, because Sadie is probably just as dark, but deals with real life horrors instead of fantastical ones. 
I will say I did not enjoy this book, because how does anyone enjoy books with the kind of topics addressed here? But despite the difficulty I had with many of the topics addressed, this book still definitely left an impact. 

Enjoyment: 2.5
Emotional impact: 4.5
Educational value: 5
=4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, and Abandonment

garlicbread247's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Blood, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Murder

Minor: Car accident and Suicide attempt

annathechaoticreader's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I thought it was a fantastic book, definitely one of my favourite young adult books. It was intense, thought provoking, with deeply flawed and complex characters that felt very distinct and human. It’s going to be a hard thriller to top for me! She not only told the story of fictional Sadie and Mattie but also the story of so many missing/murdered girls. On top of being a great read, its an important one that I would recommend to y/a and adult readers!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Abandonment

beccaand's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

the full cast audiobook 100% enhanced the experience of reading this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment

samnash's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Would have been so much better without the epilogue. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kecasey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Pedophilia, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol