Cracked Up to Be

Parker Fadley used to be head cheerleader. She had perfect grades and a perfect boyfriend. Fast forward a few months and she is drinking heavily, treating everybody like crap (though this hasn’t changed much), broken up with her boyfriend, and missing every single homework deadline. What happened to cause her decline?

When I was in high school, I had to wear a uniform. Since it was an all-girls Catholic school, my morning went something like this:
6:00—alarm goes off. Snooze.
6:15—alarm goes off. Snooze.
6:30—alarm goes off. Snooze
6:45—roll out of bed wearing t-shirt and boxers. Put on socks. Pick up polo shirt, kilt, and clogs from floor. Brush teeth.
7:00-7:30—drive to school. Eat granola bar. In school parking lot, put polo show more and kilt on over pajamas.
Proceed with day.

This is funny to me because Parker’s hungover/total mess description basically aligns with my every day of high school look. I don’t remember brushing my hair for four years. But, thankfully, I wasn’t such a psychological mess. The narrative in this book basically follows Parker in the present day but snippets of the night “it” happened are interspersed in the text until it all unravels. I found this both intriguing and annoying; the latter because the night kept building up little by little but what we already knew was repeated. (x, then x and y, then x and y and z) By the end, I was practically shouting at the book, “I GET IT! I KNOW XYZABCDEFGHI happened. Just frakking tell me already!” (though I already had it figured out)

But you’ll notice that I gave this one four stars. I love [a:Courtney Summers|1487748|Courtney Summers|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1266992933p2/1487748.jpg]’ writing style. She writes the horrifically mean girl like no one else. (more prominently in [b:Some Girls Are|6624871|Some Girls Are|Courtney Summers|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1283380988s/6624871.jpg|6819111]) Her characters are realistically flawed and you can almost smell the desperation that drips off of nearly every one of them, whether they are desperate for friendship, love, or forgiveness for missteps. This book isn’t for everyone for that reason—it is a frustrating read because you see all of these characters trying to help Parker find what she is looking for and she walks all over them and manipulates their feelings. I don’t know if I could have the patience for her that several of her peers did, especially considering I didn’t have much patience for her as a reader.

The “love triangle” (if you can call it that) in this book was a little bizarre. Parker’s ex-boyfriend Chris is still in love with her and will basically do anything for her. The more-like-a-love-square is filled out with Parker, Chris’s new girlfriend who is Parker’s frenemy, and new guy Jake, who is attempting to get Parker to open up about what happened. Flash! Bang! Drama! Anyway, Courtney Summers lovers will find the same old awesome in this one: gritty topic, beautiful writing, a bitchity main girl, and a lightning fast read.

Shoutout to Cory, who interviewed [a:Courtney Summers|1487748|Courtney Summers|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1266992933p2/1487748.jpg] last week at The Book Lantern. show less

Parker used to be the perfect teenage girl: popular, good student, head of the cheerleading squad, popular boyfriend..... But *something* happened, and she's trying hard to leave all the attention and popularity in the past. She just wants to be left alone. Why can't anyone understand that?

I read Courtney Summers' more popular book, Sadie, a while back, and I loved it -- thought it was spectacularly written. So I figured I'd go back and maybe start with some of her older stuff. Cracked Up to Be is her debut novel and it's gotten very good reviews as well. But I don't know...this one didn't resound with me. I know I'm not necessarily the target audience. But something about this angry, unlikeable main character of Parker turned me off. show more Or maybe it was the writing style of this one. I can't quite put my finger on it. I was frustrated, trying to figure out what the deal with Parker was -- why she was so angry, why she was so determined to turn people away. And even when it was finally revealed, I still didn't feel like it really justified her behavior. I seem to be in the minority on this one, but I didn't feel this one lived up to the hype. show less

Parked Fadley used to be perfect. She was valedictorian, homecoming queen three years straight, captain of the cheerleading team. But all the time, she's been falling apart. Everything comes to a head one night and cracks Parker's world and persona for good. When the book begins we find her mean as can be, drinking vodka to sleep, and threatened with expulsion unless she attends all of her classes and completes all of her homework until graduation.

I read some reviewers who said Parker's meaness turned them off. But I saw it as a cover for her brokeness, and found some of these descriptions heartbreaking. Here's one of my favorites. It's Parker with Jake, the boy who likes her:

"We laugh. And then we realize we're laughing together and show more then we stop and then it gets awkward. I don't do awkward well, at least mutual awkwardness, so I snap my fingers to make the feeling go away.

"And then I can't stop.

"Even after Jake points it out.

"'That's really annoying,' he says.

"So I kick it up a notch just to bug him and I keep it up until my fingers start to hurt."

A shudder went down my spine when I realized she can't stop snapping. CRACKED UP TO BE unveils of the truth of what happened to Parker and her struggles, as a former perfectionist, to deal with it.

Like SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, CRACKED UP TO BE is about the horrors of high school and reveals the mystery of what happened at the end. But I found CRACKED UP TO BE surprisingly more complex, more real. SPEAK, for all its terror, has a clearer resolution. And SPEAK is about one horrific event, not so much all the games children play every day in school just to survive.

I'm also so impressed with Courtney Summers' skill: the agonizingly slow reveal of the mystery, the mean but sympathetic character, the chills down my spine. This is a book that will stay on my bookshelf a long time to be re-read and studied. This is only her first published book. Other than my terror that I will never be able to write this well, I can't wait for her next book and the next and the one after that. And for a fellow Blueboarder I have to say, congratulations Courtney! show less

For some reason, the big secret did not shock me or upset me as much as I expected it. Mostly, I felt sorry for Parker. She was so prickly and antagonistic for a reason, but no one really took the time to determine why. Granted, with anyone, this is not an easy feat let alone with a teenager, but I was disturbed by the ease with which everyone just dismissed her drastic changes as a whim. Then, there was the odd feeling of admiration that Parker no longer was willing put up with the BS that exists in high school and in life. As for the book, it definitely creates food for thought on the real reasons behind teenagers’ strange behavior changes. While not Ms. Summers’ strongest novel, she still manages to tackle tough situations and show more present them with delicacy and forthrightness that promotes discussion. show less

I really loved this book. While the very beginning left me slightly queasy (the language/content really needs to be toned down), I highly enjoyed the rest. The other reviewers were right. This is one book where the ending really reverberates and it's not one you're likely to forget. I loved the big moments. There were times when I thought I knew, without a doubt, what was going to happen, but then pleasantly found out that I was completely wrong. The revelation that Jessie was her best friend was a shocking one, but it explained a lot and really made sense in a weird way. Jake was another surprise, albeit an awesome one. The ending, like I said earlier, was stunning and perfect, although I do wish there was more time given to the show more "after". I have one problem though, with books such as this one and Speak. The protagonists of both books were, at some point, popular. Despite their falls from popularity, it is still quite hard to relate to these characters, since even now, they are popular in popularity. The majority of people dealing with issues such as these are quiet recluses, not the kids in the spotlight. It's just something that really bugs me. Still. Astoundingly good story, and I won't let that small detail ruin it for me.

Rating: 5/5 show less

Cracked Up to Be was my first experience of reading a book by Courtney Summer’s. I have to say, I will definitely be coming back for more.

Let’s start with Parker. Holy Guacamole, is she a character! I have never, EVER read about a character like this girl, which is a good thing. I am tired of Bella Swan and Katniss Everdeen copycats.

The first thing you should know about Parker is that she treats people like dirt on the bottom of her boot. She just wants the whole world to leave her alone. In other words, she is extremely unlikable, bitter, and mean.

However, you can see how much she is suffering inside. I felt so attached to Parker, and was rooting for her throughout the whole book. There must be so many real people like her out show more there, and yet we barely ever read about them.

The story is also told in a series of flashbacks. I thought this was an amazing way to get across the feelings of pre-suicudal Parker. Also, the flashbacks added some oomph to the novel.

The ending of the novel was so amazing. While the ending is not quite a happy ending, it leaves the reader in hope of one. It was also a fulfilling ending, and when I read the last sentence, and put the book down, I felt as if I had just finished a race.

Overall, I cannot recommend Cracked Up to Be highly enough. The writing is realistic and gritty. The characters do not feel fictional. Why not pick this book up? show less

Head Cheerleader. Prom Queen. Honor Roll student. That was Parker Fadley last year.

Loner. Problem student. Suicide risk. That's Parker Fadley this year. Parker has gone from being a perfect student, to being a perfect nightmare. Her parents are distressed. Her teachers are impatient. And her friends don't even know who she is any more. Parker experienced something that changed her completely, and now she just wants to disappear.

This novel is gripping and painful, but ultimately hopeful. Readers will be pulled in to the story, despite the unlikeable protagonist they may find in Parker. Her almost inexplicable behavior, coupled with her tough, sarcastic attitude, holds the attention from the first page to the end of the story.