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sebradley29's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Drug use, Child death, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
venusdapoopiehead's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
wanted to re-read this to give it another chance and i’m so glad i did considering i missed the entire point of this book the first time i read it. parker, imo, is by far one of the most realistic and relatable main characters i’ve read about in a book. the self sabotaging behavior, isolating yourself and pushing people away, the need for perfection and desperately trying to fulfill the incredibly high expectations people have of you, etc etc, all incredibly relatable and something that i think almost everyone can relate to, especially teens, and i’m just actually glad she’s not perfect (she even said so herself) cause picture perfect characters are so boring and uninteresting.
one thing that i think i loved the most about this book was the style of the writing, where we (the readers) get like little snippets of the past and what happened, as a way to try to fully understand and comprehend why parker is the way that she is, i thought that was a nice touch to the book overall since i wanted to know more about such an interesting main character. apparently some couldn’t tell that said snippets in the book were from the past, personally if you just simply look at the fact that they’re in italics and use context clues, it’ll be easy to tell that it’s clearly talking about parker’s past. i am slightly curious about how parker’s life goes from there-like i think i’d love a little sequel where she’s an adult and we get a glimpse into how she’s doing now that she’s older and how much progress she made in terms of self improvement, if she made any progress at all, etc, but obviously the chances of a sequel are pretty slim, so oh well.
also personally wasn’t a fan of parker and jake’s relationship? situationship? idk but i didn’t care, especially since jake was kind of a weirdo at times (which ig is to be expected cause he’s a teenage boy but still) so each time they interacted (which was a lot, pretty much half of the book) i just did not care whatsoever.
TLDR: loved the relatability of the main character and how realistic she felt (cause let’s be honest here what high schooler isn’t super depressed and extremely flawed). also loved the writing style, wish i could see into the main character’s future tho cause now im way too invested into the life of someone who doesn’t even exist, but im fine with the fact that there won’t ever be a sequel to this. didn’t care about parker and jake’s “relationship” or whatever, but other than that, good soup.
one thing that i think i loved the most about this book was the style of the writing, where we (the readers) get like little snippets of the past and what happened, as a way to try to fully understand and comprehend why parker is the way that she is, i thought that was a nice touch to the book overall since i wanted to know more about such an interesting main character. apparently some couldn’t tell that said snippets in the book were from the past, personally if you just simply look at the fact that they’re in italics and use context clues, it’ll be easy to tell that it’s clearly talking about parker’s past. i am slightly curious about how parker’s life goes from there-like i think i’d love a little sequel where she’s an adult and we get a glimpse into how she’s doing now that she’s older and how much progress she made in terms of self improvement, if she made any progress at all, etc, but obviously the chances of a sequel are pretty slim, so oh well.
also personally wasn’t a fan of parker and jake’s relationship? situationship? idk but i didn’t care, especially since jake was kind of a weirdo at times (which ig is to be expected cause he’s a teenage boy but still) so each time they interacted (which was a lot, pretty much half of the book) i just did not care whatsoever.
TLDR: loved the relatability of the main character and how realistic she felt (cause let’s be honest here what high schooler isn’t super depressed and extremely flawed). also loved the writing style, wish i could see into the main character’s future tho cause now im way too invested into the life of someone who doesn’t even exist, but im fine with the fact that there won’t ever be a sequel to this. didn’t care about parker and jake’s “relationship” or whatever, but other than that, good soup.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Infidelity
coolcat02's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book. I love how the main character is realistic and relatable. The way the author slowly revealed things that made everything make sense was so brilliant. I'm obsessed with how Parker wasn’t just fixed and she realistically needed more time. Also can we take a moment for the hero of the story; Bailey!! He was so adorable and I love what he meant to Parker. This book hit me and I loved it. I love this author and eat up all her books. This feels like a must read for all my fellow perfectionists out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Self harm
samh's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Vomit, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Rape
bimwittt's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape and Alcohol
shannanigans92's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape and Murder
inmidnights's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’ve been putting off reading a Summers’ book after reading (and sobbing and having a philosophical crisis over) Sadie last year, because I’d clued in on the other book summaries that her books are definitely the kind I need to be emotionally ready for.
And it’s true. Cracked Up To Be delivers with her simple prose that tells as much as it holds back, the masterful use of mystery that teases you with just enough that you simultaneously want and don’t want to skip ahead to ruin the reveal, and a protagonist that you can’t help but feel for.
Straight A+, honor student with distinction, cheerleading captain, popular girl Parker is in her senior year of college—and is on suicide watch. Hellbent on a path to self-destruct, Cracked Up To Be is about the event that led perfectionist Parker to this point, juxtaposed with her current interactions with her peers, a new kid in school, her family, and school authority figures.
The story is told through Parker’s point of view. We experience her blackouts and flashbacks, her attempts to shut down feelings and follow her thought proces as she tries to self-destruct. While we are meant to ‘feel’ her firsthand, there were a couple of instances in the present timeline that weren’t clear narratively because Parker blacked out/had a flashback. These two instances in particular (spoiler):(Learning about Jessie’s confirmed death, talking to the “sparrow” in the corridor).
When the mystery is finally revealed, I do like that it wasn’t just the single event of that night that caused Parker to ‘change’. Rather, it was the nail in the coffin of something that had been there all along, something underneath the surface—something that her best friend and her boyfriend saw and were trying to help her with.
Perfection really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
And it’s true. Cracked Up To Be delivers with her simple prose that tells as much as it holds back, the masterful use of mystery that teases you with just enough that you simultaneously want and don’t want to skip ahead to ruin the reveal, and a protagonist that you can’t help but feel for.
Straight A+, honor student with distinction, cheerleading captain, popular girl Parker is in her senior year of college—and is on suicide watch. Hellbent on a path to self-destruct, Cracked Up To Be is about the event that led perfectionist Parker to this point, juxtaposed with her current interactions with her peers, a new kid in school, her family, and school authority figures.
The story is told through Parker’s point of view. We experience her blackouts and flashbacks, her attempts to shut down feelings and follow her thought proces as she tries to self-destruct. While we are meant to ‘feel’ her firsthand, there were a couple of instances in the present timeline that weren’t clear narratively because Parker blacked out/had a flashback. These two instances in particular (spoiler):
When the mystery is finally revealed, I do like that it wasn’t just the single event of that night that caused Parker to ‘change’. Rather, it was the nail in the coffin of something that had been there all along, something underneath the surface—something that her best friend and her boyfriend saw and were trying to help her with.
Perfection really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
“And it’s awkward and I hate it, but I have to accept it because I’m supposed to be accepting things now and working with what’s left. Because that’s what my psychiatrist told me to do.”
I also really liked that Parker had a solid circle of people that genuinely cared for her—from her (ex)boyfriend who never left her no matter how often she tried pushing him away, her family, the school authority figures, a girl she looked at as beneath her (and who was simultaneously jealous of her and craved her approval, yet was there for her in all the major moments that mattered), and even a new kid in school. Though, while Jake was instrumental in making Parker feel alive/want to live again, it did feel like he liked Parker as a manic pixie dream girl at the beginning.
However, as good as Summers is in engrossing us into a protagonist’s troubled head/voice, when that moment of confession in the present day and the beginning stage of acceptance came, we’re instead shoved to a quick gloss-over and fast forward. While we’ve been with Parker and her thoughts and negative emotions, we don’t get to experience her sharing her story, we don’t get to be with her in taking that small step to begin healing.
Reading a Summers’ book is like entering the protagonist’s head and experiencing their mental health problems firsthand. I wish she could’ve given us that little bit of catharsis that comes from finally unburdening as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape
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