13 Feb / Sadie by Courtney Summers [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
“It begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl” promises a new serialized podcast, created and hosted by New York journalist West McCray. Pursuing the discovery of a 13-year-old’s corpse, McCray produces the eight-part “The Girls,” “about family, about sisters, and the untold lives lived in small-town America.” Interspersed with his interviews, conjectures, and discoveries is the story of Sadie, the 19-year-old sister of dead-girl Mattie, who’s going after Mattie’s killer alone.
Abandoned by their alcoholic mother, Claire, Sadie and Mattie grew up with surrogate grandmother May Beth Foster. Because Claire couldn’t/wouldn’t, Sadie cared for Mattie with unwavering vigilance – until the one moment she failed. Self-wielding justice is her only goal.
A stupendous full cast amplifies Canadian Courtney Summers’ already astounding novel. Especially affecting is the podcast series intertwined with the narrative, complete with “brought to you by Macmillan Publishers” at each episode’s end. Presented as fiction, it’s all too real in depicting the brutal fate of girls (and women) at the whims of not only predatory men but also sensationalizing media.
Three narrators are individually recognized as the book begins – Rebecca Soler, who gives Sadie gritty resolve; Dan Bittner, who battles between determination and heartbreak as West; and Gabra Zackman, who channels both frustration and hope as May Beth – before “and a full cast” cuts off further identification. Beyond names, the ensemble proves utterly spectacular.
Review: “Media,” Booklist, February 15, 2019
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2018