Book Review: A Captivating YA Thriller in Sadie

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Murder, a runaway teenage vigilante, and an investigative podcast? The YA thriller novel Sadie by Courtney Summers covers all of these elements in its compelling, adrenaline-driven plot.

Interchanging between the point of view of the protagonist Sadie and radio personality West McCray, the novel follows the investigation of a missing teen from Colorado, Sadie Hunter, who flees home after her sister Mattie is murdered. Sadie wants revenge and sets out to hunt down the killer, meandering about sinister towns and cities for signs. West McCray maps out Sadie’s quest in his podcast, “The Girls.” As he unravels the mystery, McCray is determined to find Sadie before she becomes another dead girl without a story.

As much as I love another intense dystopian-fantasy novel, the young adult fiction genre needs a book like Sadie. Thrillers are not usually geared towards a younger audience, specifically that of high schoolers. Summers manages to dig deep into the dark side of teen life and write a story that elicits feelings of suspense and excitement while maintaining a personable tone. In all of its uniqueness, Sadie is guaranteed to be a memorable story.