Scan barcode
dorisede's review against another edition
5.0
I am huge fan of Courtney Summers and I have read all her books except the last two. I was looking for a good YA book, so I decided to reread this book from Courtney Summers, and it still holds up.
Parker is a bitch, they is no other way to say it. She is a mean girl, the type of girl you are supposed to hate in every YA book. She pushed everyone around and toyed with everyone who loved her and genuinely wanted to help her. Many people would be put off by her behavior because they can't relate to her. I know that I definitely can't relate to her but I really enjoyed reading from her point of view. She was funny and witty.
One of the best things about Courtney Summers is how well she writes her characters. She makes them feel so real like they are real people that exist outside the pages of this book. Each character in this book is incredibly well written and that's more than enough reason to love this book. So, Parker was anything but a caricature mean girl, we get so see what makes her act the way she does. So, yeah, this is the book where we root for the mean girl, at least I know I was rooting for her to finally get her shit together. It was an amazing reading experience and I did not expect anything less from Courtney Summers.
Parker is a bitch, they is no other way to say it. She is a mean girl, the type of girl you are supposed to hate in every YA book. She pushed everyone around and toyed with everyone who loved her and genuinely wanted to help her. Many people would be put off by her behavior because they can't relate to her. I know that I definitely can't relate to her but I really enjoyed reading from her point of view. She was funny and witty.
One of the best things about Courtney Summers is how well she writes her characters. She makes them feel so real like they are real people that exist outside the pages of this book. Each character in this book is incredibly well written and that's more than enough reason to love this book. So, Parker was anything but a caricature mean girl, we get so see what makes her act the way she does. So, yeah, this is the book where we root for the mean girl, at least I know I was rooting for her to finally get her shit together. It was an amazing reading experience and I did not expect anything less from Courtney Summers.
nutshell's review against another edition
4.0
3.75
This book frustrated me. The main character is frustrating one of the other characters in the books even says so. But like with a lot of Summers’ books there’s a core theme and the theme in this book really made me think a lot which made both my head and my heart hurt a little, which I guess is a good thing in my eyes.
This book frustrated me. The main character is frustrating one of the other characters in the books even says so. But like with a lot of Summers’ books there’s a core theme and the theme in this book really made me think a lot which made both my head and my heart hurt a little, which I guess is a good thing in my eyes.
katiesendlesstbr's review against another edition
3.0
Courtney Summers sure knows how to write self-destruction.
elliotalderson's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know what I expected this book to be like, but it ended up being pretty different than my expectations. In a good way.
Read this one with my MustardSid (Rosie aka rose_invisible). ♥
Read this one with my MustardSid (Rosie aka rose_invisible). ♥
kristid's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything that I hoped it was going to be and then some. And I wish that I was a good writer so that I could write a review worthy of this book. Why can’t I just say that I loved it and that it was one of the most compelling books I’ve ever read and that just be enough? Because really I don’t know why I like any book, I just do. But if I must, I guess I will.
The writing. If I hadn’t known that this was Summers’ debut novel, I wouldn’t have believed it. One of my most favorite books of all time is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and this book parallels it’s greatness, it may even surpass it. Yeah it’s that good. I hope to be reading Summers in the future, she is an author to watch.
I don’t want to get into the plot so much, because I want everyone to go in without any predispositions, well at least I don’t personally want to give anything away, I’m sure if you do some digging you can find some things out, but believe me, you don’t want to. I will say this much, I thought I had it figured out and I was wrong wrong wrong, and that is usually not the case. I found this somewhere and I don’t remember where, but it totally sums this book up: “A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today's headlines.” Yeah I really wish I had written that myself. This book does not have a sugary coating. Which only makes me like it even more.
And the characters, particularly perfect Parker Fadley, make this book an UNFORGETTABLE read.
Would I recommend it, absolutely. Have I already been recommending it, you better believe it.
Who knew it was so hard to be perfect.
The writing. If I hadn’t known that this was Summers’ debut novel, I wouldn’t have believed it. One of my most favorite books of all time is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and this book parallels it’s greatness, it may even surpass it. Yeah it’s that good. I hope to be reading Summers in the future, she is an author to watch.
I don’t want to get into the plot so much, because I want everyone to go in without any predispositions, well at least I don’t personally want to give anything away, I’m sure if you do some digging you can find some things out, but believe me, you don’t want to. I will say this much, I thought I had it figured out and I was wrong wrong wrong, and that is usually not the case. I found this somewhere and I don’t remember where, but it totally sums this book up: “A frightening and sobering look at the cruelty and viciousness that pervade much of contemporary high school life, as real as today's headlines.” Yeah I really wish I had written that myself. This book does not have a sugary coating. Which only makes me like it even more.
And the characters, particularly perfect Parker Fadley, make this book an UNFORGETTABLE read.
Would I recommend it, absolutely. Have I already been recommending it, you better believe it.
Who knew it was so hard to be perfect.
lunaseassecondaccount's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really quite surprised I enjoyed this book so much. I didn't expect to- I'm not really one for high school/teen books. In many ways, I disliked Summers' way of writing, her narrative, her storytelling. I found Parker (along with her first name) to be rather dramatic and ridiculously self-centered. What happened was tragic, yes, but I hardly reckon it was any reason for her downward spiral.
What I did enjoy was Summers' eye for detail. Parker's obsessive clicking, her perfectionist tendencies. Even her destructive nature was obsessively perfect. I also enjoyed the way that not everything worked out well in the end for Parker. It's far more realistic than girl-meets-boy, boy-solves-girls-problems, they-fall-in-love. Parker is still depressed at the end, and she finally admits (in a way) that she needs help.
It's not a literary great, and it's very simplistic, but enjoyable enough. Give it a go if you have nothing better to do.
What I did enjoy was Summers' eye for detail. Parker's obsessive clicking, her perfectionist tendencies. Even her destructive nature was obsessively perfect. I also enjoyed the way that not everything worked out well in the end for Parker. It's far more realistic than girl-meets-boy, boy-solves-girls-problems, they-fall-in-love. Parker is still depressed at the end, and she finally admits (in a way) that she needs help.
It's not a literary great, and it's very simplistic, but enjoyable enough. Give it a go if you have nothing better to do.
scythefranz's review against another edition
4.0
Cracked Up to Be is full of angst, drama and tension and the main character is stubborn, sarcastic, and difficult but all felt genuine and real. It's not pretentious and contrived.
There is really something about Summer's writing that gives justice, depth, and ingenuity to the story.
There is really something about Summer's writing that gives justice, depth, and ingenuity to the story.
willwork4airfare's review against another edition
5.0
Is it fair to write a review for a book while you're still crying after finishing it? Probably not, but it's 3 AM so I have to do it anyway.
This is one of the best teen books I've read in a while, and trust me, I read a lot of them. The characters are likable and sympathetic, even when Parker, the main character, is being a sarcastic brat to people who obviously care for her. You instantly like her because she's confident, she knows her way around people, and she'll have you laughing with all her comebacks.
This novel reminds me a lot of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, except that I actually liked it. The jumps back and forth through time give you more and more insight into why Parker acts the way she does and keeps you in suspense the entire time. About midway through the novel, you can kind of get the feel for how the end is going to play out, but the details are so much more vivid and startling that you feel like you didn't see it coming anyway.
I loved this book and I'm already looking up other books by this author. It takes a lot of talent to take a cliché topic and make it refreshing and compelling. Awesome book.
This is one of the best teen books I've read in a while, and trust me, I read a lot of them. The characters are likable and sympathetic, even when Parker, the main character, is being a sarcastic brat to people who obviously care for her. You instantly like her because she's confident, she knows her way around people, and she'll have you laughing with all her comebacks.
This novel reminds me a lot of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, except that I actually liked it. The jumps back and forth through time give you more and more insight into why Parker acts the way she does and keeps you in suspense the entire time. About midway through the novel, you can kind of get the feel for how the end is going to play out, but the details are so much more vivid and startling that you feel like you didn't see it coming anyway.
I loved this book and I'm already looking up other books by this author. It takes a lot of talent to take a cliché topic and make it refreshing and compelling. Awesome book.