★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
I have to say, I surprised myself by giving this book a four instead of a three. This book wasn't what I had expected. I thought it would be story about Sadie being a detective, but it turns out she already knew who the murderer was. Should I say that I was misled by the blurb? Perhaps. It wasn't what I was looking for, and when I didn't find myself enjoying it even when I've already reached the 50% mark, I began to wonder what the hype was over this book. Now, that's when things start to get interesting. Past that 50% mark, the story began to build up, and it made me glad I pulled through this.
Sadie is one of those books that could wrench your heart out. At first, I couldn't connect with Sadie, because I felt the writing was... I don't know... like it was written to purposefully gain the sympathy of the readers. It felt a little pretentious, I've gotta say. A little forced. But once that 50% mark was passed, all the emotions started rushing towards me. It was like the author finally got used to writing about Sadie's horrid experience and life, and managed to turn things around, letting her writing flow naturally. I began thinking of all the things I had in life, and suddenly being so, so grateful for every single one of it, because Sadie's circumstance? No one deserves to live like that. Everyone should have the support and the love that they need. Reading about Sadie's life made me feel awful, and that was the clinch. I was in deep.
In retrospect, the reason why my feelings towards this book changed, other than the way the author wrote, was because I finally understood what the dual perspective is all about. In this book, the reader will not only be able to read Sadie's POV, but also a podcast. The podcast did leave me wondering what the purpose of it was for, and when I finally realised it, my curiosity was piqued, and I was eager, more than ever, to find out where the story will lead us towards.
Just a warning, however, that the open-ended ending might not leave everyone happy. I have my own thoughts on it, but it is what it is, and I felt it was written quite well. Overall, I would say that the author has done a really good job with this, raising awareness about child abuse, mental health, drugs and abandonment. It is a heavy, but meaningful, book.