Customer Reviews

Cracked Up to Be

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have no idea how to express my feelings about this book. It's powerful, emotional, important, and really spoke to me.

The book takes place a good time after some sort of upsetting event has occurred. Everyone has gotten over it to the best they could except for Parker and that's because she finds herself guilty for some reason and no one else knows about it.

When reading this book you literally see Parker fighting with her memories. Everyday things bring up the memories of that night and we only get a little taste before they are pushed back out of her mind. Because of the way this is written you can't put the book down and also can't pinpoint what this upsetting event is. You can guess, but you are probably wrong.

I was so wrapped up in this book that in the end when that night is fully explained and I found out just what has happened, I sat up and said out loud, "Oh My God" for me that moment of understanding Parker was very powerful. Everything came full circle and I found myself identifying (to a less severe degree) with her feelings of guilt and loss of control.

This book is amazing. Just read it, immediately. I could talk about the tons of other things I liked, like Parker's sassy Veronica Mars-like attitude, the great secondary characters etc. but I rather you read the book and fall in love with it just the way I did!

Parker Fadley is brash, rude, and intent on alienating everyone around her, from her parents to her friend and ex-boyfriend, to the new kid, Jake, and her former cheerleading squad members. Yet the ruder she is, the more people take a liking to her, and even her teachers and guidance counselor give her many second chances. Why she acts the way she does is revealed in flashbacks in this excellent novel, and even as we find out what has made Parker the way she is, we still cheer for her.

The slowly unraveling mystery/crime story is shown as Parker starts to collapse, her carefully crafted world falling apart. It's often hard to tell what she really feels because she's so busy trying to keep those who care about her at bay, with plans to escape. She hates herself so much, yet doesn't do much to make herself likable.

Courtney Summers has written an outstanding first novel with an unusual, guilt-ridden heroine who is dealing with issues far beyond her years. She's tender and tough and when she is forced to confront her feelings, whether for Jake, Chris, or her dog Bailey, she starts to slowly crumble. As she owns up to her feelings, as dark and ugly as they are, she starts to see that there is life beyond that one fateful night. I don't want to give too much away, but this book is definitely worth reading, but be prepared to read straight through.

I don't know if this would have been a book that I would have picked up on my own. I bought it because of all the great ratings and reviews. I wanted to love it I really did but...it just didn't work out that way.

The writing was superb. I had no problems with that. Courtney Summers is very talented. To enjoy this book fully you had to sympathize with the main character, Parker. I found it very hard to sympathize with her. Almost impossible. She pushes everyone away and then gets upset that she has no one. She is mean to everyone and she acts pretty disturbed throughout the entire book. Which I understand is the point but I just could not like her. I tried! And I kept asking myself through the book, "Why is no one sending this girl to a shrink?!"

The plot moves along swiftly. You get Parker's back story in small snippets and flashbacks. The whole story doesn't come out until the very end of the book and then every positive feeling I had about Parker went out the window. I'm not going to spoil anything. Just read the book.

Overall, I really didn't know how I felt about this book. Like I said Summers is a very talented author but I could not rate the book too high because I didn't like Parker. I think everyone should still give this book a chance. Don't let my review change your mind. Most people love it. I just have mixed feelings.

[...]

I now remember why I was reluctant to read this book. Anyway, it's time to talk a little about it: this book made me think a lot about Sarah Dessen. Especially Just Listen. You get the mysteriously depressed (and self-destructive, in this case) girl, the alienated friends and family, the sensitive New Boy... and a Mystery. You don't know what happened to Parker to make her life so miserable, and that will be revealed in bits and pieces.

I was interested in the story, I thought Parker was deep enough a character, I loved the dog (obviously), but I couldn't find it in myself to really care about other characters, specifically Jake (aka, the sensitive New Boy).

And I found this book too depressing for confort. Nothing good happens to Parker ever. It just doesn't. Bad things happen all the time, her life is sheer crap, and all that. But nice things help lightening the mood a bit in this kind of hard-core dramas, and they are totally MIA in this book.

So I would reccommend this book to someone who is in deep need of drama and is not severely depressed (it definitely wouldn't help them at all).

And, by the way: regarding as all the Awful Stuff in books always happens in allegedly Great Parties... Well, who would ever want to go to one of those? XD

Definitely enjoyed the pace throughout the book; very concise, clean and well-organized.

I'm sure this has been said many times but really the mystery aspect of this book was so well done. A small bit here and a small bit there and at the end you're like "OMG!"

I loved almost all the characters. Seriously. Parker was so three-dimensional; she had her ups and her downs. You get a definite feel as to why she's like the way she is. The rest of the side characters were as equally impressive. They each held their ground against and with Parker. Their personalities and traits are very realistic and not too over the top. I almost forgot Bailey! The adorable dog that I want as my own.

I greatly appreciated the small backgrounds Courtney gave. Sometimes authors never include these things and I'm always dying to know how and why these characters came to be.

The dialogue was fun as well. You can feel the snarky attitude and the tension/awkwardness it created. It was straight forward and to the point when it wanted to be.

This book is definitely not something that eases you into. Right from the start you're enclosed in a whirlwind of emotions. Jump right in; just remember that it's hard to escape once you've started. Trust me, I had a hard time getting started but once I got the feel of the book I couldn't stop.

Overall:
A great read for the fall or winter season. Much deeper than your typically YA book. Something to pick on your way from the bookstore or the library!

All the reviews I read of this book were nothing short of glowing, which only raised my expectations. But I'm happy to report that my expectations were met and maybe even exceeded.

This book was ZOMG AMAZING. When I finished it, I was so happy because it was so good. The plot was so exciting, in a calm sort of way. Yeah, that kind of made no sense. Allow me to (attempt to) explain. There's the Horrible Thing That Happened that made Parker all sarcastic and bitter and mad, but the Horrible Thing That Happened isn't revealed until the very end. But throughout the book, Parker has flashbacks to the Horrible Thing That Happened, revealing that story pieces at a time. It's a slow buildup, but it brings a lot of anxiety. I wanted to know what the Horrible Thing That Happened was so bad that I couldn't put the book down, even though I was really hungry when I was reading this and wanted food. There was so much buildup to the Big Reveal and I was guessing the whole time. And when the Horrible Thing That Happened was revealed, I was so shocked. Not because I was wrong about it (I was wrong), but because it actually wasn't anticlimactic! I was kind of expecting it to be anticlimactic because of all the buildup, but it wasn't, which I really appreciated.

I must talk about Parker. Parker was AWESOME. She was so developed and had so many issues that she's one of the most believable characters I've read about in a while. I loved how she mentioned things from when she was still "perfect" and how they crazy they made her. You can definitely see the change the Horrible Thing That Happened brought, and that change was completely believable.

A short summary of this long review: This book is awesome. Read it.

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.

Reading "Cracked Up To Be" is like watching a car crash... a fatal, twisted, burning car crash. You don't know whether to feel sorry for the main character and want to reach out to hug her... or reach out to strangle her for alienating herself so selfishly and effectively from life and everyone in it.

Either way, you can't look away.

It is morbidly fascinating to have to watch a young girl's life do a complete 360 from perfection to self-imposed ruin. It's got enough bite to keep teens interested, and has major suspense appeal by slowly revealing flashbacks of the event that caused this girl to purposely shut herself off. The characters are real and dimensional, even the supporting ones. But it's a tough read: don't expect rainbows and sunshine.

There are references to drugs, underage drinking, sex, rape, suicide, runaways, murder and it is overall a very dark read. Appropriate for adults and mature teens. Well-written and twisted, it will leave you thinking.

Title: Cracked Up To Be
Author: Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: December 2008
Pages: 224
Amazon Page

Rating: A
Plot - 18/20
Characters - 18/20
Writing - 19/20
Originality - 17/20
Entertainment - 10/10
Recommendation - 10/10
Total: 92/100

Summary:
Perfect Parker Fadley isn't so perfect anymore. She's quit the cheer leading squad, she's dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she's failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she's playing games...but what they don't know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn't something she can say out loud. It isn't even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her.

Review:
Months ago, like September/October, I heard about this book. I went in search of it, and found an excerpt of it. I read it. I was not impressed. I felt it was rushed and Parked didn't impress me and, well, yeah. To say the least: Not a very good first impression.

But, then, around December. Reviewers started reading it. And there were reviews of it! And, my gosh, they were fantastic reviews! A reviews! A+ reviews! I HAD to get a copy of it! (And everybody, give a round of applause to Carol for lending me it!)

So, to begin with. I was shocked. I mean, not completely mouth-dropped-to-the-floor shocked, but shocked. I had no idea, and let me tell you, I thought of everything. Everything it could've been, and I never thought of what it was. Kudos Ms. Summers.

Summers writing was fantastic. Very much the high point of the novel. Summers wrote with intense and creepy, but definitely interesting, emotions. Fantastic imagery, real ideas, and strong, deeply strong, feelings. Unpredictable. Heart wrenching. Nothing is sugar-coated. This novel is one ride this is far from joy. This novel is a story that attacks you and makes you read and finish it because of it's intensity and the deep mind-set. This is a story you will not forget. It's mind-blowing good.

Characters. The characters were great. Parker was mean, rude, cruel, and unusual. She was a fantastic character. The supporting characters were great, but not as great as Parker. Scintillating, extraordinary, atypical, but remarkable. Truly.

Read this, you won't regret it.

I figure when you're the 61st person to review a book, no one will actually read the review at this point, but I wanted my 5 stars to count.

Courtney Summers writes realistic sounding teen dialogue and a tale that draws you in. I think teens and adults who still like teen stories will love this book. I recommend it for ages 14 and up or younger if the reader is precocious like I was.

I can't wait to read this author's other two books!