Cracked up to Be

Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com

Parker Fadley was captain of the varsity cheerleading squad. She'd been on the honor roll for the first three years of high school, and Chris, the most popular guy at school, was in love with her, the most popular girl in school. Now, no matter how awful she is to him, she knows he still loves her, but she's not worth it.

Not since the party. Not since her life took a radical one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn.

Her parents have her on a tight leash. Early curfews. Weekly meetings with the guidance counselor. Dinners with sad, yet hopeful eyes turned her way, yearning for a glimpse of the Parker they used to know. Everyone has her on a suicide watch, but nobody knows why. What could have caused Parker Fadley to turn away from everything and everyone?

It's Jake who begins to get under her skin with his unnerving presence and constant questions. How can she possibly be that interesting to him? When Evan comes back to school, she can no longer keep the memories of the events of that night at bay. Whether she wants to or not, she's going to have to find the real Parker Fadley, or risk losing her forever.

The restful cover of CRACKED UP TO BE belies the unrest and turmoil that is Parker. The voice is incredible, similar to that of SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Courtney Summers doles out the secrets in small portions, teasing the reader, and when the events of the party are finally revealed with nothing held back, the tension is palpable.

And no matter how many hints Ms. Summers drops, you'll never be able to guess Parker's terrible secret. This debut author is just that good.

11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Fantastic! Depressing, emotional, motivational... Edgy!

Now, personally I read a lot and always find myself lost in books and their characters. Let's just say I've been depressed for a couple days now.
This book is about a girl who knows something and has to carry this huge weight around with her everywhere... She wants to die.
She tried once and, unfortnately, failed. But now she's preparing to go again, slowly detaching herself from everything, everyone, but still desparetly wants to graduate.
She (understandably) fell behind in school and if she screws up much more she will lose any chance of graduating with her class in a few months... Then there's the new boy who keeps talking to her and following her around even though she hasn't given him any encouragement...

I just found this book amazing. I was very into the charaters and felt everything they did... I don't know what to say, just read it!

But be warned, this is not a 'light' read.
It swears a lot, there's sex and drinking...
Nevertheless, a great read with tons of emotions.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Not that amazing.

This book like I said wasn't that amazing. I found it hard to get through, and now its currently sitting on my bookshelf, half-read. I dont know what I didn't like about it. I think it was that fact that I found Parker alot different then myself, and ready to argue about anything. Or say something nasty to anyone.

Most teens might like this book. But like myself others might find it hard to relate to.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Cracked up to be :)

so i read cracked up to be. The first thing i have to saw is that it is an awesome and amazing book. now a problem that i had with it is that well it was hard to get into it about the first 3 chapters i hated and it was like "is this going to be the whole book" i was about to quit. I am so happy i didn't. though the book isn't that long it made me think about my life and how i treat people. and what if my best friend went missing and how would i take it.
I think the best books are ones that make you think about what you've read and when you relate it to your own life. which this book totally did. Almost after every single chapter i'd sit and think. "wow" i also thought "am i wasting my life worrying about the little thing and not seeing the whole picture" i mean i worry about what i look like and how people see me and i don't care so much about people's feelings.
So this book really made me think of that so im glad that i read this book and yeah.
I think that every person should read this book :)

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers

Excellent book. I loved the Parker and I felt I could relate to her. She was funny, adventurous and pretty much everything in between. This book made me laugh and cry.
I loved how original the characters were; especially Jake and Parker.
I was always expecting religion to jump in (I hate when authors do that). But it didn't and that always kept me going.
I finished it in one day.
Amazing. I recommend it everyone.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Breathtakingly Unforgettable!

I find it hard to believe Cracked Up to Be is Courtney Summers' debut. The writing is breathtakingly unforgettable.

Cracked Up to Be is definitely not a light~hearted read. I was stunned speechless.

Summers stretched her literary muscles & crafted not any "teen angst fluff", but a lyrically spellbinding tome!

I'm not going to summarize the plot for fear it will ruin your reading pleasure. In fact, I don't want to discuss much of Cracked Up to Be for fear of tipping off too much.

Courtney Summers is an author that has a natural gift for telling a story; she doesn't need bells & whistles to get her point across. As I was burning through the pages, I kept wondering, "where on earth has Courtney Summers been?"

Courtney's riveting prose will hypnotize you from the first page.

The players lining Cracked Up to Be are mesmerizing, but Parker is resplendent w/ every hue shimmering like stained glass.

Parker's narration is nourishingly illustrative, which Summers generates deftly. Parker seems to "have it all" but things aren't always what they seem. Parker has a fierce longing for approval & a hunger for love which isn't over the top or wishy washy.

Kudos to Ms. Summers for hitting a home run w/ Cracked Up to Be.

Cracked Up to Be is a profound story w/ rich layers you unearth while turning the pages!

I thought I had it all figured out, but I didn't. I'm usually spot on but Summers got me good!

Summers vividly showcases that it isn't all that it's "cracked up to be" being a youth in today's society. Summers' somber view makes you sit up & take notice. Cracked Up to Be is an alarming introspection into the barbarity of high school life.

Cracked Up to Be is definitely a novel to remember long after you close it.

Grab a copy of Cracked Up to Be. Definitely a novel to remember look after you close it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great power brings great responsibility

This is definitely not a light-hearted read, and perhaps that is why I did not fall too hard in love with it. After reading so many fun and fuzzy YA books, I was probably unprepared for the different change of pace in cracked up to be.

The main character Parker is brutal, and quite frankly I don't think I could be friends with her. She scares me - to be fair, she scares the other characters as well! However, as the story progresses, I saw that her hard exterior masked a very broken interior. I could appreciate her obsession with perfection (being a haphazard perfectionist that I am) and how hard she is on herself.

Courtney Summers does an amazing job with teasing us with bits and pieces of why Parker is trying to remove herself from everybody's lives. With each new piece of information - both useful yet still vague - I found myself with a new theory each time and a whole lot of second-guessing. When all the puzzle pieces fell into place, I cannot say that I had a OMG moment, but it definitely explains Parker's path to self-destruction a whole lot better.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

not worth it, but does keep you flipping pages

so i looked @ the reviews and brought this book. after i finished, omg, I WAS SOOOO disappointed. it only took me like a day and a half to finish it. i admit it keeps you flipping pages, because there's a secret reason why the character is so edgy & violent & such a delinquent. So i furiously kept reading to find out what the secret was, and through mid-way of the book, you kind of can predict what happened in the main character's past that made her that way. And when you officially find out the secret, its immensely disappointing. I mean, Parker experienced her best friend getting raped, and she keeps it to herself for more than a year. Even though nothing happened to Parker herself, she starts flunking & acts like such a bi**h to everyone at her school. And her actions just angers me , because thats not something a normal teen would do. she has sex with a guy one day and the next day, she doesn't even want to see him. she's rude & honestly her personality turns me off. she is such a mess. and the whole book is kind of pointless.
plus: 1st time readers will be addicted to book
minus: the resolution & the big secret sucks. straight out sucks. character is stupid & reckless.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

entertaining

The story was a bit ongoing-entertaining, but you just know you are in the middle of her life. Parker has a great personality, the ability to just say what's on her mind is so humorous! I really liked her, and I really liked the book. I wish the athour would have given a more detailed ending, but I can live with what she gave me! It's a good read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Underrated teen novel

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers is anything but your typical YA fare - it's not set in the Upper East Side or LA, no pop culture references are used, and it shockingly does not include a description of every character's designer wardrobe. The story's protagonist is a sarcastic 18-year-old girl, the former queen bee of her Catholic high school. Her fall from grace is a particularly tragic one; no longer the head cheerleader and girlfriend of Mr. Popular, Parker Fadley self-destructs. Wanting to be left alone, she alienates herself from her family and friends, taking pride in shutting people out. That is until she meets the new kid. Jake Gardner is initially intrigued by her "I don't give a f&^@" attitude, however the more he tries to get inside Parker's head, the faster her resolve starts to crumble. The complexity of their relationship is frustrating, yet the witty banter between Parker and Jake make for an entertaining read. Parker's inner turmoil is the crux of the story, painful flashbacks revealing the real reason why she's chosen to ostracize herself. The teenage issues of sexuality and drug/alcohol use are dealt with in a frank and realistic manner, nevertheless the sex is pretty non-graphic. Language is what would give this a 14+ rating. Overall I really enjoyed Ms. Summers' work, giving it 4 stars due to the disappointing ending and failure to understand the title. If you are in search of a darker read, definitely check this one out!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Cracked Up To Be was a book...

I found Cracked Up To Be a very exciteing book, it left you wanting to read more as you read. The emotions of Parker can be felt with every chapter and even some of her emotions the reader his or herself have felt at least felt once in their lives. I recomend this book to anyone who finds the trails of teenage years readable.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

best book ever

this book is incredible. the main character is completely screwed up and the story is deep. its not a "oh i'll bring this to the beach and read just for fun, stupid silly book." when i described what the book was about to my friends, they all thought it sounded depressing. I brought the book into school and they'll all read the back cover and were hooked. All of them have borrowed and loved it. Its perfect if you dont like UNrealistic puff stories where everything ends up happily ever after. the book shows flawed characters and that is probably my favorite part is the unique characters. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND! i've reread several times.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

??????

How many pages

This was my first time reading a book like this for entertainmen

This was my first time reading a book like this for entertainment outside of school it was definitely entertaining and it had me hooked in the first few chapters the main character reminds me of myself attitude wise but different reasons for the attitude I would recommend this book it is worth the time to read and it doesn't even take a day to read

Best book I've read in a while!

Best book I've read in a while!

A...?

This book was quite intresting....when reading it you might predict something in your head but honestly the opposite is gonna happen! Plus the end when the secret is revealed It's a total shocker.....put your self in her shoes what would you do

Omfg good

The plot was great and it made it better by how they put the big secret in.....!!!!

a rereader

i absolutely LOVE this book!!!
when it says you won't forget parker, it couldn't have been more spot on
i don't normally reread any of my books, but this will be the one. I couldn't put it down until i got to the end. i wanted to wrap my arms around parker and tell her its ok. i was really hoping for a follow up, but i really hate the cliff hanger ending (even though it really wasn't) i would recommend this to everyone

Powerful Read.

This book was bundle of emotions. I'm being in honest in saying I'm not sure how to open this up. We start off with "Perfect" Parker Fadley (I must say I love the name Parker). Parker just wants to be left alone. She's rude, she talks back, and she cares about no one. That doesn't stop new kid Jake from liking her or her ex-boyfriend Chris from still loving her. Despite Parker's facade, everyone knows who she used to be, but no one knows why she's had a fall from grace.

I'll admit, I ripped through this one fast. Each end of the chapter just pulled me into the next, and before I knew it, I was done. I've got to be honest and say though I was happy for Parker with the way it ended, but the ending didn't satisfy me. Don't get me wrong, this was a very good book. I really like how it covers a few issues.
One: Even though you've changed, there are still people who will always be there for you.
Two: You need to learn to let people help you, it may be the only way to get yourself through a situation.
Three: Just because something bad happened, it doesn't mean it was your fault. You may have not done anything to prevent it, but that doesn't mean it's your fault.
Four: Being perfect isn't always the right thing.

So characters: I really liked Parker. Bad ass, sassy Parker! She played a great role, and taught the reader a lot of lessons. Becky, well I thought becky was a b*tch like Parker did. Haha. Jake - Cute new boy jake. He was such a good guy and though Parker didn't deserve it, he was really good to her. And Chris - I really, really, reaaaalllly liked him. What a good guy. Oh Parker you IDIOT!

This book is defiantly worth a read. I defiantly bawled my eyes out during one chapter, because I get emotional when a *certain* thing happens, so that scene really pulled at my tears. Very well written. Not a favorite, but it was a very good book and I'm looking forward to reading her other books "Some Girls Are" and "Fall For Anything".

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Amazing

Best book i loved it andit was so cute and romantic in ways