Scan barcode
smolbean_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Hmm... I don't know. This book just didn't click with me. There wasn't really anything special that kept me interested? I mean, I was intrigued enough to finish it but I didn't really care much. I liked Parker though I think. It was worth a read but I've not got much to think or say about it. I do like the realism of the characters though, they're very fleshed out, Courtney summers is good at this.
lauren_soderberg's review against another edition
5.0
Cracked Up to Be is an exposed nerve—raw and unflinching—from beginning to end.
Parker Fadley would do anything to be perfect, even if that means being controlling and dictatorial. After something terrible happens at a party, something that Parker sees as unforgivable and solely her fault, she becomes convinced that the only way through is to burn everything down. She puts as much effort into alienating herself as she did at being perfect. And it seems to be working, until a new student and a persistent rescue dog start to break down her defenses. The question becomes whether or not Parker will let them, and if she is capable of acknowledging and processing all of her trauma in order to truly heal.
I’ll be honest, Cracked Up to Be is a difficult read. It deals with heavy topics like suicide and sexual violence. It’s a complete immersion into Parker’s burgeoning breakdown, and it is as riveting as it is heartbreaking. The way in which Courtney Summers deftly weaves in portions of the past that build and build until the reader knows everything that Parker knows is genius. This slow unraveling ratchets up the anxiety and stress of not knowing, and also makes you feel like you’re experiencing what Parker is experiencing in real time.
I appreciate the way that Summers encapsulates the adolescent experience, and that she presents a protagonist that isn’t stereotypically “likable.” Parker is suffering, she is unable to process her pain, and she employs flawed logic… all of these attributes humanize her and imprint her more fully onto the reader. I am so glad that the publisher decided to reissue this novel; it is too important to be missed.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Parker Fadley would do anything to be perfect, even if that means being controlling and dictatorial. After something terrible happens at a party, something that Parker sees as unforgivable and solely her fault, she becomes convinced that the only way through is to burn everything down. She puts as much effort into alienating herself as she did at being perfect. And it seems to be working, until a new student and a persistent rescue dog start to break down her defenses. The question becomes whether or not Parker will let them, and if she is capable of acknowledging and processing all of her trauma in order to truly heal.
I’ll be honest, Cracked Up to Be is a difficult read. It deals with heavy topics like suicide and sexual violence. It’s a complete immersion into Parker’s burgeoning breakdown, and it is as riveting as it is heartbreaking. The way in which Courtney Summers deftly weaves in portions of the past that build and build until the reader knows everything that Parker knows is genius. This slow unraveling ratchets up the anxiety and stress of not knowing, and also makes you feel like you’re experiencing what Parker is experiencing in real time.
I appreciate the way that Summers encapsulates the adolescent experience, and that she presents a protagonist that isn’t stereotypically “likable.” Parker is suffering, she is unable to process her pain, and she employs flawed logic… all of these attributes humanize her and imprint her more fully onto the reader. I am so glad that the publisher decided to reissue this novel; it is too important to be missed.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
justlily's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't had great luck with Courtney Summers books in the past so I was surprised and pretty thrilled to find that I loved this. I think this book is an important one to be brought up when we talk about a character not necessarily having to be likeable or relateable to be well written and moving. Did I LIKE Parker? No. But that's not the point.
Anyway, back on the Courntey Summers train, will go back to trying the rest of her books.
Anyway, back on the Courntey Summers train, will go back to trying the rest of her books.
kjbmod's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks Courtney Summers for wrenching me out of a reading slump that lasted a whole MONTH. Why is my favorite form of ya about like teen trauma lol
morethanthepages's review against another edition
5.0
Finished this in one day. Loved it and wish I had read in high school because I know 16 year old Rachel would have loved it and just totally thrived on the dark depressing moodiness of it all.
Courtney Summers has become and instant read ever since I picked up her book Sadie. I love her writing. It's immersive and completely makes you feel the story.
Cracked Up To Be had so many emotions packed in I can see why many people have reached out to her about it. Her authors note gave some really thoughtful insight to her debut book and what it meant to hers and others.
I look forward to rereading this one and reading her next book.
Courtney Summers has become and instant read ever since I picked up her book Sadie. I love her writing. It's immersive and completely makes you feel the story.
Cracked Up To Be had so many emotions packed in I can see why many people have reached out to her about it. Her authors note gave some really thoughtful insight to her debut book and what it meant to hers and others.
I look forward to rereading this one and reading her next book.
itsdanysbooks's review against another edition
4.0
4.25*
holy crap som to prečítala za jeden den. presnejšie za 5 hodin.
To bolo take uzasne, ze je to jedna z naj knih za tento rok! za velku cast hodnotenia je zodpovedná dokonalá audiokniha, ktoru odporúčam. A viem si ju presne predstaviť v tej booklab edícii ako je Mŕtve dievča a Charlie
PLUSY
- KONEČNE super duper mega skvelá hrdinka, ktora bola ironická bitch. bola presne taka po akej som už dlho tuzila, taka antihrdinka, ktora bola na vsetkych protivna a kedysi bola kralovnou skoly. milujem ju
- pribeh. myslela som si, ze je to mega predvidatelne, lebo uz dopredu som tipovala, co sa jej asi stalo, ale nebolo to tak. az na konci mi začínalo dochádzať; ze co sa stalo
- vtiiiip. na to, aku temnú temu rieši kniha som sa dost nasmiala na tom, ako je super napísaná. a teda hlavne na skvelo nahovorenej audioknihe
- hrdinka pilaaaaaaaa. uz len cigarety mi chybali ale huraaa. celkovo bola kniha dost realne opisana, co sa tykalo mladych, ze bezne mali sex, party, pili, nadavali, ale na hodinach mali voci profesorom rešpekt
- aj napriek typickej stredoškolskej téme tam nie je ziadna svina, ktora hrdinke robi napriek ako v kazdej jednej knihe. tou svinou je totiž hlavná postava
MINUSY
- po tom, ako nas autorka celu knihu pripravovala uryvkami na skutocne odhalenie som teda čakala nieco epickejsie a hrozivejsie
- skoda, ze sa o tom, ako hrdinka pila len hovorilo a nezažili sme to velmi
- ship?? autorka vykreslila az prilis dokonaleho kamoša na to, aby predstavila menej zaujímavého hrdinu
Jednoznacne odporucam!!! Ako, 75% knihy sa nic nedeje a len sa rozpravaju, chodia do skoly a hrdinka ma sebadestruktivne sklony, no nieco ma na tom tak chytilo, ze som to musela skratka dočítať. malo to totiz vsetko co na takych YA contemporary knihách milujem - realitu, smutnú temu, tajomno, sex a alkohol, skutocne svinu hrdinku.
holy crap som to prečítala za jeden den. presnejšie za 5 hodin.
To bolo take uzasne, ze je to jedna z naj knih za tento rok! za velku cast hodnotenia je zodpovedná dokonalá audiokniha, ktoru odporúčam. A viem si ju presne predstaviť v tej booklab edícii ako je Mŕtve dievča a Charlie
PLUSY
- KONEČNE super duper mega skvelá hrdinka, ktora bola ironická bitch. bola presne taka po akej som už dlho tuzila, taka antihrdinka, ktora bola na vsetkych protivna a kedysi bola kralovnou skoly. milujem ju
- pribeh. myslela som si, ze je to mega predvidatelne, lebo uz dopredu som tipovala, co sa jej asi stalo, ale nebolo to tak. az na konci mi začínalo dochádzať; ze co sa stalo
- vtiiiip. na to, aku temnú temu rieši kniha som sa dost nasmiala na tom, ako je super napísaná. a teda hlavne na skvelo nahovorenej audioknihe
- hrdinka pilaaaaaaaa. uz len cigarety mi chybali ale huraaa. celkovo bola kniha dost realne opisana, co sa tykalo mladych, ze bezne mali sex, party, pili, nadavali, ale na hodinach mali voci profesorom rešpekt
- aj napriek typickej stredoškolskej téme tam nie je ziadna svina, ktora hrdinke robi napriek ako v kazdej jednej knihe. tou svinou je totiž hlavná postava
MINUSY
- po tom, ako nas autorka celu knihu pripravovala uryvkami na skutocne odhalenie som teda čakala nieco epickejsie a hrozivejsie
- skoda, ze sa o tom, ako hrdinka pila len hovorilo a nezažili sme to velmi
- ship?? autorka vykreslila az prilis dokonaleho kamoša na to, aby predstavila menej zaujímavého hrdinu
Jednoznacne odporucam!!! Ako, 75% knihy sa nic nedeje a len sa rozpravaju, chodia do skoly a hrdinka ma sebadestruktivne sklony, no nieco ma na tom tak chytilo, ze som to musela skratka dočítať. malo to totiz vsetko co na takych YA contemporary knihách milujem - realitu, smutnú temu, tajomno, sex a alkohol, skutocne svinu hrdinku.
surpriseitem's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 because the ending could have been a little more fleshed out but everything else about this book was perfect for me. I love Courtney Summers. <3
mellabella's review against another edition
3.0
Cracked Up To Be kept me entertained. It was well written and thought provoking. The main character (Parker) was not likable. At all. She came across and whiny and self important. She is on some sort of tremulous probation period with her school due to an episode where she stole her boyfriends (at the time) $, went to a hotel, got drunk and took pills. Her ex boyfriend still wants her back. I have no clue why. Even though he was kind of dating Becky. The girl who took over Parker's place in the high school hierarchy of popularity. Becky sounded like Elle from Legally Blonde. I don't know. Maybe because the author referenced her wearing pink a lot. She is trying to distance herself everyone that cares about her. When I found out what Parker actually did at the end of the book. It made me dislike her more. No. Actually, scratch that. I started to dislike her more when she convinced her parent to get a dog. The dog died when she took it for a walk. She was nice to the dog. I guess. But she also told her mother that she didn't care if the dog lived or died. Hmm... There is also Jake. A guy who has no clue why he lies the insufferable Parker. I liked CS's other books way better. But this was not bad.
christajls's review against another edition
4.0
This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic
Cracked Up to Be is outside my usual reading comfort zone. I don’t read a ton of contemporary and almost no books about teen “mean girls.” So I was a little nervous diving into it. I gave myself plenty of time to read it so that I would be able to finish it during the read-a-long. I did not expect that I would totally be sucked up in the story to the extent that I would start sneaking pages whenever I could – while cooking, in the morning when I was supposed to be getting ready for work, over my lunch break. I couldn’t get enough. This book is addictive – I couldn’t wait to find out what the big secret was that had caused Parker to change her life so dramatically.
One thing that really stood out for me, other than the mystery of it all, was that Parker wasn’t a particularly likeable character. In fact she could be down right horrible. But for me this was a nice change from the average YA female protagonist. People are complicated and they are layered and reading about characters who are perfect in every way gets boring. Reading about someone like Parker, with character flaws abound, is significantly more interesting.
Cracked Up to Be is outside my usual reading comfort zone. I don’t read a ton of contemporary and almost no books about teen “mean girls.” So I was a little nervous diving into it. I gave myself plenty of time to read it so that I would be able to finish it during the read-a-long. I did not expect that I would totally be sucked up in the story to the extent that I would start sneaking pages whenever I could – while cooking, in the morning when I was supposed to be getting ready for work, over my lunch break. I couldn’t get enough. This book is addictive – I couldn’t wait to find out what the big secret was that had caused Parker to change her life so dramatically.
One thing that really stood out for me, other than the mystery of it all, was that Parker wasn’t a particularly likeable character. In fact she could be down right horrible. But for me this was a nice change from the average YA female protagonist. People are complicated and they are layered and reading about characters who are perfect in every way gets boring. Reading about someone like Parker, with character flaws abound, is significantly more interesting.