You've got to be in a good head space for this one because it's HEAVY.

t's fair to note that I'm an adult, and therefore NOT the target audience for this book, but I whole-heartedly believe that Cracked Up to Be is the book I needed as a teen. Also noting that this is a re-release of a novel first published in 2008, I found it incredible in the sense that it's thematic issues transferred over to the present time flawlessly, although this partially could be due to some updates in the content to bring the story into the current decade's level of technology. All that to say, I'm not a young adult anymore, but as a mother of two young girls, YA contemporaries featuring the struggles my daughters might encounter one day interest me. My oldest will be a teenager in just 6 short years, and while that seems like an eternity on glance, I'm pretty other parents here will understand just how fleeting each precious second is with our children.

Parker Fadley is an intentionally unlikeable character. That's not a cheap shot at the story, as the author herself states this fact in the introduction to the book. Parker tries incredibly hard to distance herself from everyone she knows and cares for, due to a careless mistake she committed in her junior year of high school. Most of the story is told in the present, after the event, but the suspense builds throughout as we slowly get flashback glances into how the night in question unfolded. Part of what makes this book so powerful is not that the author pulls every outrageous twist in her arsenal, or makes every single teenage issue happen to Parker herself, but she does touch on a lot of the tough content inserted into teen fiction these days, such as rape, suicide, and a brief mention of abortions that are not part of the narrative.

Truly, this is a story about Perfect Parker and what happens to her when this facade is forcibly removed. While I do think that all the adults are portrayed as complete idiots in this book, I think it's fair to assume that the book is written in an accurate way due to the fact that the author was only 22 when the book was published. I appreciate that, while all adults are not completely tuned out to when a kid is in trouble, this story does a great job of showing what it might feel like through the eyes of a teenager in that moment, and also how, while we want to help every kid that we see struggling, we might have no idea as adults in the best way to reach them. Mental health is really the theme that this story circles around, and I truly appreciate how the book ends on a messy, but hopeful note. Nothing is tied up in a pretty little bow, and this felt so authentic and real that I wanted to give Parker a standing ovation. If you're looking for a lightning fast read where the suspense of "what happened" will keep you turning the pages, please give Cracked Up to Be a try.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

I walked into this one with Sadie in mind.....this is a novel totally different in 100 ways! Not a bad one per say, just not what I was expecting. I was having a hard time relating to a lot of this, but for the teen student it would be a good novel for me to recommend. The writing style seemed a bit off from her earlier work, so that threw me off and made it feel like it was dragging a bit. But, all in all, a decent novel.

I’m coming to believe that Courtney Summers just isn’t my style of author. I’m kinda over YA books with main characters I can’t stand and tons of language and risqué behavior. I just don’t want to read it in YA books anymore. Maybe that’s just me.

This was a great book. Better than the other one I had read by her first. The flow was great, never felt sluggish for me. Kept me interested until the end.

I read this one because I loved Sadie. This book is a different beast, but I still enjoyed it, though a smidge less than I enjoyed Sadie.

I LOVED Sadie and I knew this book was a reprint but I decided to give it a try anyways. I sadly didn't end up liking this book as much as I enjoyed Sadie.

I really enjoyed the witty writing, but it left a little more to be desired than Sadie. I still defintiely enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an impartial review.

This may not be a book for everyone. I strongly suggest that you check out the trigger warnings for this book because Summers has a way of really embodying the dark nature of this story for their reader. But if you decide to go ahead, you will pick up a book that is heart-wrenching, dripping with teenaged anguish and hurt, and something that you will not quickly forget.

This is a story with a mystery element, but it is incredibly centred on the torment of struggling with trauma on your own. The way the author pulls this off is incredibly gripping. It has been a long time since I felt so invested in a main character, as I felt with Parker Fadley. Parker is struggling and as a reader you will walk alongside her, unravelling the events that brought her to this point in her life. A gripping story that will wreck even the most strong-willed reader.

Trigger warnings: suicide, suicidal ideation, teenage pregnancy, abortion, missing loved one, drug use, alcohol use, rape (on-page)

In 2018 Courtney Summers released a novel, Sadie, that was a young adult mystery/thriller which became a big hit with readers. A year and a half later the publisher decided to re-release the author’s debut Cracked Up to Be with a new cover that more fit with Sadie’s to hopefully draw in new readers. Who can blame them really when of course I was drawn in myself?

Cracked Up to Be is a young adult contemporary story with a slight bit of mystery involved. Parker Fadley is the protagonist in the story, she used to be *the* girl at her school. Captain of the cheerleaders and dating the most popular boy Parker’s world was perfect, until it wasn’t. Parker now has quit cheer and is on academic probation after acting out to mask her pain.

Reading this debut novel I wondered to myself if maybe the author was making Parker a bit too unlikable in her defiance. I kept reminding myself while reading that this was obviously a teen in pain about something but when she kept making outrageous move after another it was hard to actually like her. The story deals with a lot of darker elements and in the end I was glad I got to know Parker as she represents a teen dealing with something way too big for someone her age and her struggles are the truth of what some youth face. Overall though I could tell this was a step back for the author and could see how her writing grew by the time Sadie was written and this debut landed at three and a half stars for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Welp, I blew through that one a lot quicker than anticipated. I loved how snarky and sarcastic Parker is. I probably wasn't who this book was targeted for age wise, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. It was relatable in so many ways, and I was anything but a popular kid in school. Courtney Summers is quickly becoming one of my favorite Authors.

What an amazingly powerful, well thought out, excellently told story of a broken girl lost in her own head. Courtney Summers has blown me away with this one. She has crafter a tale that has just enough mystery to go with the over wheeling emotions the main character is feeling. Parker was once your run of the mill popular girl. Head cheerleader, dating the most popular guy in school, had the most popular friends. She was perfect in everyone's eyes but her own. To her she was in control. And when she list control one night everything changed for her and she couldn't get it back. Summers brings us into Parker's head all while not giving away too soon what happened that made her change, that broke her. Watching Parker navigate the already complicated world of high school while trying not to feel anything when everything makes her feel something is heart wrenching and powerful. I honestly don't have the words to do this book justice. Simple put...AMAZING!

I really wish I could have read this book when I was younger. I think it would have been much more impactful but overall I still really enjoyed this book. No one writes an unlikeable character that you just want to hug and let them know everything will be okay quite like Courtney Summers.

I've adored Courtney Summers' books even when my love for YA in general faded. Her debut definitely shows promise and a first look at her fantastic characterizations and crisp dialogue. The plot packs a punch but did seem to fall a bit flat at the end. Still an amazing read and I will constantly look forward to more from her.

Wow! No one writes a downward spiral like Courtney Summers! I am a definitely a fan and I love an unlikable character, so this book was amazing! Highly recommend.

4 stars ( I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

TW: Anxiety, rape, death, mental breakdowns, suicide

Originally I had an e-arc but it expired but recently I was able to read the e-book through Scribd and it’s actually quite a short book. However it definitely packs a punch and definitely got me emotional at parts. Parker is the contemporary version of an antihero going from popular cheerleading captain to troubled problem child constantly being watched over by high school teachers and staff. There are flashbacks throughout the novel to a party the previous year before her friend went missing giving us more insight into Parker’s background. Jake is the new kid that takes a liking to Parker even though she barely tolerates him for a while. She constantly has an on/off relationship with her ex Chris and is no longer friends with Becky, despite Becky attempting to continue their friendship. There is talk of mental health all throughout the book and there is a traumatic event that happens in the current timeline that ramps up the story, which made me sob uncontrollably. It was a roller coaster ride and had a surprising last quarter of the story, with a somewhat satisfying ending. I will say it was pretty good writing for the author’s debut, as this is a reissue with a cover change to match with the cover of her novel Sadie.

Cracked Up to Be is a tough read. Parker Fadley was once the captain of the cheerleading squad, and the most popular girl in school. Now, she is drinking, on the brink of failing her classes, and might not graduate. I loved Sadie, and when I heard that this story was being republished, I was excited to get my hands on another story written by Courtney. This one; however, was frustrating and didn't quite captivate me like Sadie did.

My Rating: 4.5 stars
I read a finished copy from the library.
May Contain Spoilers.

"Four years, two suicides, one death, one rape, two pregnancies (one abortion), three overdoses, and one missing person."

Parker is one of the most realistic characters I have ever read. We see this overachiever go from appearing to have it all together and her whole life planned out to, suddenly not caring about anything after a party. Her entire world shifts and she just truly is going through the motions of life and just wants to be done with all of it. All because of a choice she made the night of the party that forever makes her feel guilty and ashamed in a way. Her way of dealing with that was to just stop appearing to care about anything and to just basically exist. She doesn't really know what to do, and because of that, she wants to be left alone and to have nothing be expected of her. This was heartbreaking to read at times but is what made Parker be extremely relatable as a character.
So many people around Parker never gave up on her and never stopped expecting her to snap out of it. While at times this was helpful when it came to her friends helping her with school assignments, it was also harmful at other times because they were enabling her to a certain extent. My favorite relationship that Parker had with anyone was with the new kid and school. He didn't know her before she was like this, and because of that just wanted to get to know her and be her real friend. I think he is what really helped her, in the end, start dealing with all that had happened.

Overall I loved this story. It dealt with some very hard topics like all of Summers books do, but she is always able to do them in a way that is realistic and gets human emotion to come across the pages in a way that no one else can. We see the bad things and some of the good things that happen from the choices we make and the actions we do or choose not to do to help others.
Cracked Up To Be was one of those stories that I didn't want to end. Even though Parker had all of these problems she was doing I never stopped rooting for her and I would have loved for this book to be even longer. We see her realize things throughout the book and start to change for the better towards the end.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Cracked Up To Be. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Parker Fadley had it all, but lost it in one drunken night. Racked with guilt, Parker tries to push everyone away. When a new guy enrolls in school, a person with no connection to what happened in the past, will he be able to help Parker? What happens when the memories of what happened that night catch up with the young woman?

Cracked Up To Be might have been groundbreaking when it was first released in 2008, but now it is just more of the same. Parker's perfect world comes crashing down and, despite their best efforts, her parents and teachers cannot seem to reach her. I believe the panic attacks, destructive behavior, and anxiety, but not the snarky attitude. I also find it implausible that Parker's friends could not figure out what was going on, especially as they were there the night that set everything in motion. Overall, Cracked Up To Be was a fast read, but I am hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

Parker had it all. She was captain of the cheerleading squad and was dating the most popular guy in school. Her grades were the best and she was the one everyone loved to hate or hated to love. Until one tragic even turns everything upside down.

Now Parker wants nothing more than to be left alone. Something that isn't granted to her no matter how hard she tries to push people away. The more they push the more her walls start to crumble around her. Sending her to the point where a break is iminent, even for strong, badass Parker Fadley.

A story about accepting ones mistakes and not giving into to the pressure that surrounds us on a daily basis. Also a prime example of love in one of it's purest forms.

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers is about as gritty as it gets, especially in the world of young adult novels. The protagonist, Parker, is smart and sarcastic and intentionally unlikable.. While she's portrayed realistically and will likely be relatable to many teen readers, the themes and content are so dark in this book, I would struggle with handing it to most of my students.