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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 meager 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.
Review:
I picked this up from the library when I heard Sabaa Tahir recommend it on Instagram. All I knew about it was the author raving about how she couldn't put it down. I agree. This mystery was a full of suspense and tension. It was also a searing look at how addiction affects all members of a family. I would also say that if you have triggers for child sexual abuse, you may want to steer clear of this novel.
What I Liked:
Narrative Style:The book has an alternating narrative style with some chapters from the point of view of Sadie (the missing girl), and other chapters in the style of a journalist's podcast. The reporter is trying to piece together how Sadie went missing, and where she might be. This style showed enough of what was happening to fill out the story. But there are still lots of information that neither narrator has access to.
Characters:
The characters fall into two categories, children and adults. The tragedy of Sadie and her sister is difficult to read at times. But the reader really gets an understanding of how children of addicts are forced into survival mode. The older ones take care of the younger siblings, and even cover for their addicted parent. The younger siblings never get just how much their parent has messed up. In this book this dynamic leads to Sadie hating her mother, and Mattie resenting Sadie.
The adults are also covering up for the addict, making endless excuses for the mom's behavior. I think it's because they just don't want to actually take responsibility for these kids. And that's the tragedy. If some adults stepped up, much of the kids' misery could have been avoided.
Story:
The story takes place a year after the death of Mattie, Sadie's younger sister. The murder still hasn't been solved and now Sadie is missing. We soon learn that Sadie has a good idea of who did this, and is seeking her own justice.
As the novel progresses, we learn about the parade of boyfriends the mother had in her home. Each one has a story. Could one of them had been abusing the girls? Will the reporter be able to figure it all out?
Portrayal of Addiction:
This book is heartbreaking because it shows the terrible price that children of addicts pay. They are so vulnerable to neglect and abuse. The lingering effects can last a lifetime, or cut a young life short. There is often mentions of this kind of situation in books. But I can only think of one recent YA book (Girl in Pieces, by Kathleen Glasgow) that has ever presented such raw realism.
Trigger Warning: Child sexual abuse, Violence, Drug addition.
Rating:
Release Date: September 4th, 2018
Author: Courtney Summers
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genre: YA Fiction
Page Length: 311 Pages
Source: Public Library
Format: E-Book
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