Pages: 308
Publication Date: September 4th, 2018
Genre: YA Mystery/YA Contemporary
This is a story that initially seems like it's capitalizing on the success of Serial or one of the many other good podcasts out there. We have a missing girl and people doing a podcast to find the answer. I don't really begrudge Summers for trying it, as it's an interesting concept and different from most books out there. I wish I'd read it as an audiobook, due to the fact it has a full cast but alas I read it as an ebook. The unique concept really did work for the story.
The main character has a stutter, which is an interesting change in a book. Never read an adult or YA book with the character having a stutter. The story is heartbreaking and made me cry at the end. I really felt for Sadie. The story is told between Sadie's story as to why she was missing and her describing her relationship with her sister. Slight spoiler: she's on a mission to avenge Mattie's death. The other part of the story is told as the podcast and the podcast investigating what happened. I did figure out the ending before the end (it wasn't that big of a twist) but it didn't make it any less heartbreaking or raw. Sadie was a great character, very strong and a good person. Just with a hard past.
I want to read more by this author now!
4.5/5
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries or contemporaries. I read it because it seemed like everyone was talking about this book. I can see why though, it actually lived up to the hype. The writing is good, plot moved well and an interesting concept. Definitely recommend reading this as an audiobook as it was really designed to be.
Cheers,
Jen.