Sadie is a teenager who is missing. She's been living in an economically devastated town in rural Colorado, raising her younger sister Mattie on her own after their addict mother takes off. Their situation is stark. Then 13-year-old Mattie goes missing and is found murdered. The story follows Sadie's chase to locate her sister's killer and a reporter's race to find Sadie.
This book is fantastic. The 2019 Odyssey Award Winner for best audiobook for children and/or young adults, Sadie includes a full cast and score in the format of a journalist researching and producing an NPR-style podcast. Wes McCray's radio show on small forgotten towns in America provides the perfect backdrop to uncovering the mystery behind Sadie's disappearance and Mattie's death. I've read a couple of books with a podcast or reality show gimmick and Sadie was very well done. There are regular transitions from the story of the investigation to the podcast. It's innovative and keeps the reader interested.
This is a tough subject matter that made me sick to my stomach because it's all too real. Missing girls and boys deserve to be found and have their stories told.