With spooky season upon us, many are probably looking for something to keep them on the edge of their seats. Some may assume that horror is the only genre that gives off the creepiness everyone wants. However, thrillers can be just as scary with highly believable storytelling. “Sadie” by Courtney Summers is one of the most spine-chilling books to read.

A little bit about Summers: she is a 35-year-old Young Adult Fiction writer based out of Canada. She is a New York Times Bestselling author for several of her novels. Some of her previous works include, “Cracked Up to Be” (2008), “All the Rage” (2015), “Please Remain Calm” (2015) and her most recent “The Project” (2021). 

“Sadie” is a mystery rooted story where the protagonist, 19-year-old Sadie Hunter, is on the run while searching for her sister’s killer. When her car is left abandoned with all of her personal belongings still in it and Sadie is nowhere to be found, a local journalist, West McCray, thinks nothing of it. With the mindset that kids go missing all the time, he thinks that there was no real story to be told. He sees nothing interesting enough to share on his segment about small, forgotten towns in America. 

Once McCray is yet again told about her case at a local gas station, he shifts his attention to the clues she leaves along the way and decides to follow towards the deepest parts of her tracks, becoming obsessed with finding her before she sinks too deep. But first, he must go back to her childhood, learning much about her previous living situation before running away and before her sister’s murder. 

Driven by a reporter’s natural curiosity, McCray interviews everyone he can find whose life was touched by Sadie and finds that she leaves lasting impressions that may lead him nowhere. 

“Sadie” is worth all of the praise it gets for its honesty on how trauma can have a lasting impact on a person. This book deals with lots of triggers such as pedophilia, sexual abuse, drug abuse and murder, so be careful and aware of the content this book contains. The story is told from the perspective of a woman who loses herself when she loses her sister and is fueled with urgency for revenge as she pushes through the struggles of staying lost forever since she does not want to be found. 

The story also gives a perspective from the reporter’s point of view and his desperation to keep up with Sadie before it is too late. Sadie is not a detective in any way, nor is she a hard-trained action heroine. However, in comparison to some of the best thrillers, Summers wrote a story about an ordinary person faced with extraordinary circumstances.

While the plot is enjoyable, it is the narrative approach that Summers chose to take that makes this book really shine from other YA thrillers. It offers a story that is not afraid to be brutally honest about missing cases. 

Summers continues to write novels that pull at readers heartstrings through the gift of writing. Her books are not ones to simply skip over. Especially for those who are fans of the thriller genre.

Image from Courtney Summers via Instagram