Sadie by Courtney Summers is a one of those YA mysteries about teen runaways that will stay with you long after the last page. I felt instantly drawn into her story and liked the format of alternating podcast interviews and young Sadie’s viewpoint as she sought justice against her sister’s killer.

Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these YA books if you enjoyed reading Sadie as much as I did.

The Delinquent Hero by Khristina Chess

“How exactly did Noel discover her? When? Why was he at her house in the first place? … Is it possible that instead of finding her, he’s the person who hurt her?” ― Khristina Chess, quote from The Delinquent Hero

Wow! The Delinquent Hero grabbed me from the first page and never stopped!

Everyone is saying Kat fell and hit her head, causing a catastrophic brain bleed. She’s severely malnourished and on life support, and in a few days, the doctors will remove the ventilator.

But when 18-year-old Molly visits her sister’s rental house, it looks more like a crime scene that someone cleaned up. Stories about what happened are inconsistent.

Later at the hospital, when Molly whispers into her sister’s ear about the odd things she discovered, alarms start wailing on Kat’s cardiac monitor. It’s like, even though she’s supposedly brain dead, some part of Kat still hears her. Like maybe something evil happened in that house.

Like maybe someone tried to murder her.

What I love most about The Delinquent Hero is the puzzle that Molly is trying to solve—not just about the how this terrible thing happened, but also about her sister herself. It’s a great novel that shows the way eating disorders can impact the people who love them the most. There is so much pain in trying to answer why?

If you enjoyed reading Sadie, don’t miss this raw and unforgettable new YA mystery about a complicated sisterhood and grief. It’s hard to put down!

Junior Missing by Khristina Chess

“He called me the most willing kidnapping victim in history. I’d invited him to my house, he’d said. I’d climbed into the car. I’d packed a bag. And a parakeet.” ― Khristina Chess, quote from Junior Missing

Love shouldn’t take prisoners.

Sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world, is missing. Police initially believe she ran away—until they locate her abandoned cell phone along the highway. No one knows she met someone online, someone older, a musician named Quentin Brock who has a cool band named Acid Mozart. He seems to be romantic, cute, and funny. He seems to be the perfect guy.

By the time he reveals his true colors, Grace is trapped in another state with no way out.

She doesn’t even have shoes.

Junior Missing hooked me from the first page and never let me go!

What makes Junior Missing so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how Grace falls into the trap of an abusive relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go. I worried about her. I loved seeing her journey and choices as she befriends the neighbor girl. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in this kind of situation.

In fact, if you liked Sadie by Courtney Summers, check out some of the other books by Khristina Chess, too. She’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.

Missing by Kelly Armstrong 

“Reeve’s End is the kind of town every kid can’t wait to escape. Each summer, a dozen kids leave and at least a quarter never come back. I don’t blame them—I’ll do the same in another year. We thought it was just something that happened in towns like ours. We were wrong.”― Kelley Armstrong, quote from Missing

Winter Crane’s sister is missing.

In missing-person cases, police only have so much time to find victims before their chance of returning home safe diminishes, and in this instance, the timeline for how long Winter’s sister has been missing happened to her—and other missing kids—is tied to an invisible clock like a heartbeat. It creates suspense is already unclear. As the mystery quickly unfolds, the urgency to find out what might have and raises the stakes. The tension increases with each turn of the page because we believe the situation is life-or-death. The hero spends a lot of time literally running from one place to another, trying to beat the clock.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plucky heroine and her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing teens, even at increasingly dangerous personal cost to herself. The West Virginia setting seemed vibrant and real without being cliched or overdone. The killer was gruesome, creepy, and sinister.

If you enjoyed Sadie, you won’t want to miss this thrilling story about missing teens and the search for what has happened to them.

A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis

“Good people can do terrible things, Lydia. The longer you live, the more you see it.” ― Mindy McGinnis, quote from A Long Stretch of Bad Days

Mindy McGinnis is one of my favorite YA authors, so I couldn’t wait to dive into this new book. The setup and beginning starts off slow, but once Lydia and Bristal begin chasing a murder mystery in their small town, the plotting was great. The ending was a surprise to me, but I’m an easily fooled reader.

I especially enjoyed the friendship that developed between the girls, despite the fact that they come from very different socioeconomic backgrounds. Lydia is right. Bristal comes from the poor part of town and has a family reputation. People think of her as disposable. She’s not. She sharp-witted and funny, and she helps Lydia to see things very differently.

If you’re looking for an offbeat mystery with interesting characters, be sure to check out A Long Stretch of Days! In fact, Mindy Micginnis is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!

Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

“I know Becca didn’t run away. That leaves one possibility and one impossibility, and I long for the impossible. Because if she isn’t dead, if she’s only been taken, she can be brought back.”― Kate Alice Marshall, quote from Rules for Vanishing

Sara’s adopted sister Becca vanished a year ago.

Although everyone has given up the search, Sara is determined to find her because she believes Becca has gone into the woods and is lost on The Road. Sara convinces (tricks) a group of her friends to join her on this terrifying journey.

Not everyone comes home. Because at some point they break the rules:

Don’t leave the road.

Don’t let go.

Don’t follow other roads.

Rules for Vanishing is not a typical YA novel about teen runaways. It is dark, mysterious, creepy, and full of scary and supernatural stuff. I loved it and devoured it in a few days. The ending was an unexpected twist, especially because of the connection to Kate Alice Marshall’s other novel, Our Last Echoes, which I’d read first.

This is another recommendation I think fans of Sadie will really enjoy.

This Is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell

Chris is missing.

While he’s gone, his girlfriend Jessie decides to write letters to him, so the entire book is a series of scenes narrated to Chris. The mystery of his disappearance deepens as more of the bullying that Chris had endured unfolds.

Heartbreaking, beautiful, and powerful, Jessie’s letters are her way of coming to terms with the fact that the boy she loved went running one night but never came home again.

Check out this hard-hitting YA book about depression and racism. It’s a great third-person look at the impact of depression on those who love the person and feel helpless to ease their suffering. Fans of Sadie will also enjoy this one.

Other YA Books Similar to Sadie

If you are looking other books similar to Sadie, check out the Books Similar to Sadie, Runaway Books, and Runaways in YA and Middle Grade Fiction lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books by type of tough topic.

What about you? Do you have any recommendations to add to my list? If you enjoyed Sadie, are there other similar books you loved?

Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.