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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.
daffz's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book as an ebook so I couldn't see the page count, but it's hard to believe goodreads on the page count of this book. How is it so short? It took me ages to get through it. Probably because I had a lot of time focusing on it.
I just didn't connect with this book, which was a disappointment. I've read two of this author's books before, and liked both a lot more than this one. Both of her other books were impactful and intriguing. This one mostly left me cold. I feel like it took too long for the book to explain what had happened, and when it did, it didn't really feel satisfying. None of the characters felt real to me, and it really irritated me how Parker only seemed to know three people at her school. I understand that she was avoiding people, but it still felt strange to only see Chris, Becky, and Jake for most of the book.
This book failed to capture me in any way, really. I had trouble getting through it and nearly DNFed it. This one wasn't for me.
I just didn't connect with this book, which was a disappointment. I've read two of this author's books before, and liked both a lot more than this one. Both of her other books were impactful and intriguing. This one mostly left me cold. I feel like it took too long for the book to explain what had happened, and when it did, it didn't really feel satisfying. None of the characters felt real to me, and it really irritated me how Parker only seemed to know three people at her school. I understand that she was avoiding people, but it still felt strange to only see Chris, Becky, and Jake for most of the book.
This book failed to capture me in any way, really. I had trouble getting through it and nearly DNFed it. This one wasn't for me.
taviamorgan's review against another edition
4.0
i really liked this book. i think there was room for a little more romance or something cause i just felt like it was lacking a bit. one description i read said she was falling in love and because that didn’t really happen i was a tiny bit disappointed. i did like this book and these characters i just think i wanted a little bit more
noirbettie's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so amazing that I now want to go back and change every book I've ever given five stars to something like two or three stars, no matter how good they were, because they were not THIS good.
More coherent thoughts to come when I am slightly less emotionally gut-punched (i.e. more than an hour after I finish reading).
More coherent thoughts to come when I am slightly less emotionally gut-punched (i.e. more than an hour after I finish reading).
nnneato's review against another edition
1.0
The reviews here and the commentary written on the book itself make me wonder if I'm reading a completely different copy... but that can't be true...
From page one, you can tell this story is about a bitch. From chapter two you can tell this story is about a manipulative bitch. From chapter three, you can tell this story is one of the ones that holds back the real story from the reader. Unfortunately, it doesn't do a very good job of giving anything else to hold the reader over until the big reveal. Parker is just plain unlikeable to me... I see other reviewers claiming she's depressed, but she obviously has the energy to carry out her crazy alienating tactics and never once is immobilized by despair or guilt. Then again, I did skim from page 20.
Just one of those books that makes me wonder if I'm reading what other people are reading.
From page one, you can tell this story is about a bitch. From chapter two you can tell this story is about a manipulative bitch. From chapter three, you can tell this story is one of the ones that holds back the real story from the reader. Unfortunately, it doesn't do a very good job of giving anything else to hold the reader over until the big reveal. Parker is just plain unlikeable to me... I see other reviewers claiming she's depressed, but she obviously has the energy to carry out her crazy alienating tactics and never once is immobilized by despair or guilt. Then again, I did skim from page 20.
Just one of those books that makes me wonder if I'm reading what other people are reading.
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
3.0
In the new introduction that Courtney Summers added when this book was published again, she mentions that Parker is a hugely unlikeable character. This is so true. She’s self-destructive and beyond unlikeable. She was pretty relatable because I was pretty self-destructive when I was her age. I liked that she had friends (sort of) that were there and tried to keep her accountable.
This book was almost hard to read, but the mystery and suspense of the flashbacks (which led up to why Parker went from head bitch to almost drop out) kept me interested. I really wanted to know what Parker went through to cause this change. I was a little disappointed with the reveal. It was a terrible thing, but really, she did a terrible thing. She didn’t look out for her friend and that just made me mad. It made me angry with an already unlikable character.
Overall, this was a pretty quick read. If you like Courtney Summer’s other books, you’ll probably like this one too.
This book was almost hard to read, but the mystery and suspense of the flashbacks (which led up to why Parker went from head bitch to almost drop out) kept me interested. I really wanted to know what Parker went through to cause this change. I was a little disappointed with the reveal. It was a terrible thing, but really, she did a terrible thing. She didn’t look out for her friend and that just made me mad. It made me angry with an already unlikable character.
Overall, this was a pretty quick read. If you like Courtney Summer’s other books, you’ll probably like this one too.