A decent enough mystery of who killed Sadie’s sister, Mattie. The book explores poverty, a drug-addicted mother, and the bond between two half-sisters, one of whom is murdered.

READ IF YOU…

• Want a mild mystery
• Are fine with obscure endings
• Want a sisterly-bond story

Title: Sadie | Author: Courtney Summers   | Rating: 3/5

I expected more from all the hype, but was left only mildly satisfied with the read. It’s a generic murder mystery, where a young 13 year old girl, Mattie, is found murdered. Her older sister, Sadie, goes on a search to find out who killed her.

The book is a mix of all the bad things that could happen to people:

• drug-addicted neglectful mother
• no stable or healthy father figure
• child molestation
• poverty

I didn’t feel as invested in the characters as I did in the mystery of who killed Mattie. The characters seemed cliche, and so was the story, frankly. Oddly, the open-ended ending that should have been dissatisfying ended up being the most satisfying part, only because I expected the mystery to be solved in a certain way.

Sadie wasn’t the most original book, the mystery of the killer wasn’t the most profound, and the characters are forgettable. Still, if you want a quicker, generic mystery, this is a good enough read.