Sadie by Courtney Summers ~ Excerpt

*THE GIRLS Podcast now available*

* A 2018 BookExpo America YA Editor’s Buzz Book Pick*

*Most Anticipated by BookRiot, Goodreads, B&N Teen Blog & Buzzfeed *

“A riveting tour de force.”

 —Kirkus, STARRED Review

"Summers’ novel is filled with her trademark biting commentary on sexual assault and the mistreatment of girls and women at the hands of predatory men...her hunt for Mattie’s killer is captivating, and Summers excels at slowly unspooling both Sadie’s and West’s investigations at a measured, tantalizing pace." 

—Booklist, STARRED Review

“A taut, suspenseful book about abuse and power that feels personal, as if Summers, like May Beth and West, can’t take one more dead or abused girl.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

"The fresh, nuanced, and fast-moving narrative will appeal to a range of YA and new adult readers, and serves as a larger examination on the way society interacts with true crime...It's impossible to not be drawn into this haunting thriller of a book. A heartrending must-have."

—School Library Journal, STARRED Review

“An electrifying thriller, taut as a bowstring. A coming-of-age tale, both gritty and sensitive. A poignant drama of love and loss. This -- all this -- is SADIE: a novel for readers of any age, and a character as indelible as a scar. Flat-out dazzling." —AJ Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

SADIE

By Courtney Summers

Courtney Summers is already known for her well written and dark young adult novels, earning rave starred trade reviews on every book. With a fierce and independent female lead, SADIE (September 4, 2018; Wednesday Books) continues in this vein told in part as a podcast, similar to Serial, about a missing girl determined to avenge her sister’s death. A propulsive and harrowing read that will keep you riveted until the last page, Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career.

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an

isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

As the pages turn, your heart will be in your throat the whole way. SADIE is darkly delicious and addictive, the perfect fall read. As a major Editor's Buzz Book Pick at BEA, Summers’ thriller will be the book to read this season, and in a creative twist, the first YA thriller podcast. THE GIRLS released the first episode on August 1^st bringing SADIE to life in a new way by picking up the script content from the book and using the under-explored content area in the podcast area of teen listeners. Combining a haunting novel and additional material through the podcast, Summers has changed the way readers experienced books.

About the Author

COURTNEY SUMMERS lives and writes in Canada. She is the author of What Goes Around, This is Not a Test, Fall for Anything, Some Girls Are, Cracked Up to Be, Please Remain Calm, and All the Rage.

More about THE GIRLS podcast:

THE GIRLS: Find Sadie is the first-ever YA thriller podcast. The Serial-like show is based off the novel Sadie by Courtney Summers. In a brilliant move, Summers scripted periodic chapters of the novel like a podcast script, hosted by fictional radio personality West McCray. The six-part podcast series brings these chapters to life with a 30+ person cast, music, and sound effects and was a collaboration between Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Podcasts, and Wednesday Books. Episode 1 launches on August 1st, and the show will air seven weekly episodes available on all the major podcast platforms. The final episode will feature a bonus interview with Courtney Summers and her editor Sara Goodman.

SADIE

By Courtney Summers

Published by Wednesday Books

**On Sale September 4, 2018**

Hardcover | $17.99

ISBN: 9781250105714| Ebook ISBN: 9781250105721

For more information or to set up an interview with the author, contact:

Brittani Hilles at brittani.hilles@stmartins.com or 646-307-5558

Or Meghan Harrington at meghan.harrington@stmartins.com or 646-307-5556

More early praise for SADIE:

"SADIE is an electrifying, high-stakes road trip—a gripping thriller with a true—crime podcast edge. Clear your schedule. You're not going anywhere until you've reached the end." 

—Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of There's Someone Inside Your House and Anna and the French Kiss

"A haunting, gut-wrenching, and relentlessly compelling read. SADIE grabs you and won't let you go until you've borne witness." —Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Carve the Mark and The Divergent series

"Summers has pulled no punches when it comes to diving into the darker side of teen lives.” – Bustle

“We love a good podcast mystery, so we are here for this fall 2018 release from Wednesday Books.” – RT Book Reviews

Praise for Courtney Summers:

“Unflinching and powerful.”

—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review on All The Rage

“Through its resolution is neither tidy nor simple, Romy’s powerful story creates a space for change.”

—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review on All The Rage

“Not all loose ends are tied up by the end, and the book is more powerful for it.”

—School Library Journal, Starred Review on All The Rage

“ALL THE RAGE is a powerful portrait of rape culture. It illustrates the insidious nature of victim blaming and communities that insulate their golden boys, as well as the many emotions that survivors cycle through. This story doesn’t hold back, at all, taking you directly into the maelstrom of being a teenage girl.”

—Rookie Magazine on All The Rage

“Courtney Summers' 'All the Rage' Will Make You Feel All The Rage, And That's Exactly Why You Must Read It”

—Bustle on All The Rage

“Summers takes victim-shaming to task in this timely story, and the cruelties not only of Romy’s classmates but also the adults she should be able to trust come heartbreakingly to the fore. Romy’s internal monologue is breathy and filled with bitter indignation.”

—Booklist on All The Rage

“Rape culture, class prejudice, and bullying are all handled sensitively and powerfully in this novel.   Readers will definitely be compelled to find out whether Romy breaks free from her demons or implodes from the pressure.” —Voya Magazine on All The Rage

“Romy’s anguish dominates her narration, and the details of her experience—the victim-blaming by her classmates, both boys and girls, and her keeping it all secret from her mother—are acutely observed… In fact, injustice and privilege are the major themes of the novel, and those are topics that ensure this book will elicit lively classroom discussion.”  

— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books on All The Rage

“One of the most powerful, heartbreaking and emotionally charged stories about rape, interracial relationships and friendship.  Courtney Summers intricately weaves mystery, lies and heartbreak throughout this powerful novel. Reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, All the Rage grabs hold and won’t let go. Romy’s story is violent in nature and language, but there is no other way to convey the hurt, anger and heartwrenching emotional and psychological issues that she faces. This is a beautiful story that speaks to all women.”

—BookPage on All The Rage

"[A]n unforgettable and powerful vision of the end of the world, up close and personal."

—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review on This Is Not a Test

"It's The Breakfast Club, George Romero style."

—Publishers Weekly, starred review on This Is Not a Test

"Summers' latest hits every plot point to perfection... This is one supremely talented writer."

—RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Stars (Top Pick) on This Is Not a Test

"Zombie fans will eat this up, brains, hearts and all."

—Booklist on This Is Not a Test

"[A] riveting and powerful novel."

—School Library Journal on This Is Not a Test

"Unusual and absorbing."

—Kirkus reviews on This Is Not a Test

"One of the sharpest and hardest-hitting of Canada's writers about high school life."

—The Toronto Star on Fall for Anything

"An unusual, bold effort that deserves attention."

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review on Fall for Anything

"Mysterious, romantic, and excruciating in its suspense... hauntingly written and compulsively readable."

—Booklist, starred review on Fall for Anything

"This is a fearless and wonderfully executed young adult novel."

—RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Stars on Fall for Anything

"Searing... a riveting journey."

—Shelf Awareness on Fall for Anything

THE GIRLS

EPISODE 1

[THE GIRLS THEME]

WEST McCRAY:

Welcome to Cold Creek, Colorado. Population: eight hun- dred.

Do a Google Image search and you’ll see its main street, the barely beating heart of that tiny world, and find every other building vacant or boarded up. Cold Creek’s luckiest—the gainfully employed—work at the local grocery store, the gas station and a few other staple businesses along the strip. The rest have to look a town or two over for opportunity for them- selves and for their children; the closest schools are in Park- dale, forty minutes away. They take in students from three other towns.

Beyond its main street, Cold Creek arteries out into worn and chipped Monopoly houses that no longer have a place upon the board. From there lies a rural sort of wilderness. The

4       c o u r t n e y  s u m m e r s

highway out is interrupted by veins of dirt roads leading to nowhere as often as they lead to pockets of dilapidated houses or trailer parks in even worse shape. In the summer- time, a food bus comes with free lunches for the kids until the school year resumes, guaranteeing at least two subsidized meals a day.

There’s a quiet to it that’s startling if you’ve lived your whole life in the city, like I have. Cold Creek is surrounded by a beau- tiful, uninterrupted expanse of land and sky that seem to go on forever. Its sunsets are spectacular; electric golds and oranges, pinks and purples, natural beauty unspoiled by the insult of skyscrapers. The sheer amount of space is humbling, almost divine. It’s hard to imagine feeling trapped here.

But most people here do.

COLD CREEK RESIDENT [FEMALE]:

You live in Cold Creek because you were born here and if you’re born here, you’re probably never getting out.

WEST McCRAY:

That’s not entirely true. There have been some success sto- ries, college graduates who moved on and found well-paying jobs in distant cities, but they tend to be the exception and not the rule. Cold Creek is home to a quality of life we’re raised to aspire beyond, if we’re born privileged enough to have the choice.

Here, everyone’s working so hard to care for their families and keep their heads above water that, if they wasted time on the petty dramas, scandals and personal grudges that seem to define small towns in our nation’s imagination, they would not survive. That’s not to say there’s no drama, scandal, or

s a di e       5

grudge—just that those things are usually more than residents of Cold Creek can afford to care about.

Until it happened.

The husk of an abandoned, turn-of-the-century one-room schoolhouse sits three miles outside of town, taken by fire. The roof is caved in and what’s left of the walls are charred. It sits next to an apple orchard that’s slowly being reclaimed by the nature that surrounds it: young overgrowth, new trees, wild- flowers.

There’s almost something romantic about it, something that feels like respite from the rest of the world. It’s the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts. At least it was, before.

May Beth Foster—who you’ll come to know as this series goes on—took me there herself. I asked to see it. She’s a plump, white, sixty-eight-year-old woman with salt-and-pepper hair. She has a grandmotherly way about her, right down to a voice that’s so invitingly familiar it warms you from the inside out. May Beth is manager of Sparkling River Estates trailer park, a lifelong resident of Cold Creek, and when she talks, people listen. More often than not, they accept whatever she says as the truth.

MAY BETH FOSTER:

Just about . . . here.

This is where they found the body.

911 DISPATCHER [PHONE]:

911 dispatch. What’s your emergency?