Sadie, by Courtney Summers

 Savvy's Reviews

Not sure you want to dig into that new book? Let Savvy do the hard work for you! Here's her latest review!

Sadie by Courtney Summers

[Content Warning: Child abuse, sexual assault, murder, missing children]

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she's left behind. And an ending you won't be able to stop talking about.

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.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page. - GoodReads.com

A flawlessly phenomenal full cast narration really gives this book the ultimate Murderino, true crime lover vibes. It really felt like I was listening to My Favorite Murder (which really is my favorite true crime podcast - not for the faint of heart mind you.) 

Not only do parts of it sound like a real podcast complete with filtered over-the-phone noises but there’s real ambiance noise fit in behind the scenes of interviews like you’re really sitting in a restaurant listening to true accounts about sightings of a missing girl. It’s really something else.  I felt like I was really listening to The Girls podcast or a movie and I kept wanting to look back at the screen hoping to see Taissa Farmiga looking for her sister’s murderer. 

Told in alternating interviews / podcast / narrative, this faux-true crime mystery is really captivating. I’ve never experienced a book the way I lived through this one. “Sadie” is a must listen but if you can’t listen to it, you absolutely have to read it. 

Some books are meant to be heard. This is one of them. “Sadie” is everything I never knew I wanted in an audiobook. This full cast audio instantly sent me into a tunnel vision binge. Courtney Summers is a genius. With a rare ending, this book really gives us a one of a kind experience with a one of a kind voice. 

Savvy B. is an avid Young Adult fiction superfan. 

Savvy's Reviews will be archived here, so you can catch up on all her thoughts on her latest reads.

PET, by Akwaeke Emezi

Savvy's Reviews

Not sure you want to dig into that new book? Let Savvy do the hard work for you! Here's her latest review!

 

 

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi 

 

[Content Warning: Child abuse]

 

Pet is here to hunt a monster.

Are you brave enough to look?

 

There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lesson all her life. But when she meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colours and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question — How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

 

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices a young person can make when the adults around them are in denial. - GoodReads.com 

 

A beautiful, heartbreaking, fiercely important book. This story about a black transgender girl doesn’t mind carrying a heavy message. In a world where monsters haven’t existed for a long time, children are saddled with the question, “What do you do when the adults in your life refuse to acknowledge the danger around them?” This fantastic work of fiction really holds a mirror to our society today and says, “do you not see yourself in me?”

 

This book is heavy. It was an honor to be in the presence of a book that could change the world the way this one could. Thick with metaphor but done right, this book talks about monsters… all around us, next to us, inside of us. This book takes the horrible society we live in and paints a picture of gorgeous colors so that we can finally understand what some of us choose not to see. Only then can we make the change from monsters to angels. 

Read this book with an open mind and opened eyes and then, never blink again. 

 

This book will haunt you long after you put it down. Although, I’m curious as to whom this book really speaks to. While it’s marketed as YA and I’m always an advocate of “teach the children to create a better world,” some of the strong themes in this book seem to lend themselves to more of a crossover novel into the adult shelves. When evil can exist in plain sight, ignored… that’s when the monsters win. 

 

This book is all about seeing the unseen and recognizing hidden signs. It is about showing our children what is right and wrong even if we think wrong no longer exists. We must always give them the power to say no and speak up.

 

An excerpt from a letter written by Christpher Myers feature in the front of Pet by Akwaeke Emezi:

 

“On television, in movies, villains are easily recognizable. The bad guys wear long dark robes and have no noses, or wear tight-fitting suits and have red eyes. There is something comforting in this idea, that when you see evil, you will know it. That it cannot be hiding in the everyday faces of people you ride the bus with, or go to school with, or share a sandwich with at lunch.

 

“Hannah Arendt, the political philosopher, coined the phrase “the banality of evil”--that evil is very often “terrifyingly normal.” She knew, as many who have suffered do, that the worst things can happen in the blandest of places -- between the lines in a textbook omitting large swaths of history or in the hushing of a child who has something important to say. All these things are done in the name of keeping our world safe, consistent, banal. 

 

“And when our villains have new costumes and haircuts in the latest styles, where will we say that evil lives? Will it be in the voices that dare to disturb that peaceful illusion? Pet asks precisely these questions. In a voice that is as clear and poetic as in any of their work for adults, Akwaeke examines the journey that evil has made, from monstrosity to mainstream. This adventure, set in anyplace America, thinks about language and communication, for versatility in listening and speaking is essential to understanding where we are in the world, to see past the lie that there are no longer any villains. Akwaeke asks us readers to reconsider our monsters, to look past the comforting illusions and, along with Jam and Redemption, hunt for the true villains in our midst.”

 

“‘...Angels could look like many things.’ So can monsters.” 

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

 

 

Savvy B. is an avid Young Adult fiction superfan. 

Savvy's Reviews will be archived here, so you can catch up on all her thoughts on her latest reads.

SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson

 Savvy's Reviews

Not sure you want to dig into that new book? Let Savvy do the hard work for you! Here's her latest review!

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson 

[Content Warning: Sexual Assault, Physical Abuse, Drugs Use]

A searing poetic memoir and call to action from the bestselling and award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. 

In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. SHOUT speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice-- and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore. - Goodreads.com

This book took my breath away. It’s the most raw and honest book I’ve ever read and it stands with the likes of “The Poet X” and the poetry of Amanda Lovelace and Rupi Kaur. I will absolutely be reading this book over and over again. Not just because I can relate to so many of the eloquent pages but because it’s an excellent reminder to stand up for yourself and others who might not be strong enough to. 

I’ll show this book to my children and hope that it speaks to them and tells them to stand up. Laurie Halse Anderson is the voice of a generation. She gives hope to millions of survivors everywhere with all of her works. 

Anderson is not afraid to tell the truth and really open society up to the fact that in twenty years since “Speak” was published, nothing has changed. Victims are still afraid to come forward and are still rarely believed, taken seriously, or properly protected.  Anderson opens up the floor and challenges society to have a conversation. She stands her ground and doesn’t back down, calling to action everyone who has ever felt the need to take the long way just to avoid the trauma of their past. 

Laurie Halse Anderson is a powerhouse who will change the world. 

This book is absolutely a perfect book for required reading. It really starts a conversation for teens and young adults about rape, drugs, alcohol, relationships, depression, trauma and so much more. 

Savvy B. is an avid Young Adult fiction superfan. 

Savvy's Reviews will be archived here, so you can catch up on all her thoughts on her latest reads.

Sadie, by Courtney Summers

 Savvy's Reviews

Not sure you want to dig into that new book? Let Savvy do the hard work for you! Here's her latest review!

Sadie by Courtney Summers

[Content Warning: Child abuse, sexual assault, murder, missing children]

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she's left behind. And an ending you won't be able to stop talking about.

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.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page. - GoodReads.com

A flawlessly phenomenal full cast narration really gives this book the ultimate Murderino, true crime lover vibes. It really felt like I was listening to My Favorite Murder (which really is my favorite true crime podcast - not for the faint of heart mind you.) 

Not only do parts of it sound like a real podcast complete with filtered over-the-phone noises but there’s real ambiance noise fit in behind the scenes of interviews like you’re really sitting in a restaurant listening to true accounts about sightings of a missing girl. It’s really something else.  I felt like I was really listening to The Girls podcast or a movie and I kept wanting to look back at the screen hoping to see Taissa Farmiga looking for her sister’s murderer. 

Told in alternating interviews / podcast / narrative, this faux-true crime mystery is really captivating. I’ve never experienced a book the way I lived through this one. “Sadie” is a must listen but if you can’t listen to it, you absolutely have to read it. 

Some books are meant to be heard. This is one of them. “Sadie” is everything I never knew I wanted in an audiobook. This full cast audio instantly sent me into a tunnel vision binge. Courtney Summers is a genius. With a rare ending, this book really gives us a one of a kind experience with a one of a kind voice. 

Savvy B. is an avid Young Adult fiction superfan. 

Savvy's Reviews will be archived here, so you can catch up on all her thoughts on her latest reads.