Terrific book. Absolutely loved it. Compelling characters and story line. Kept me interested the entire time.

I admit I’m no the targeted audience for this book however it didn’t stop me from wanting to read this one. I was introduced to the author, Courtney Summers, after reading Sadie and I absolutely LOVED it and her writing style.

This book was really good. I truly enjoyed it. There were many parts that just stayed with me since reading this one.
“The sooner you make a mistake and learn to live with it, the better. You’re not responsible for everything. You. Can’t control the way things end up.” Courtney Summers is truly becoming one of my favorite young adult authors. Her books are raw and emotional and leave you completely in your feels. Highly recommend this one.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy for my honest review.

Raw and unapologetic, Cracked Up To Be follows "Perfect" Parker - now not acting so perfect after a devastating event that has turned her life upside down. Unfolding slowly throughout the story, Summers creates a devastating story, sympathetic characters, and a realistic portrayal in a novel that will stick with you long after you've put the book down!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

After absolutely loving Sadie by Courtney Summers, I absolutely had to read Cracked Up to Be. However, I still didn't anticipate how enthralled I'd be by the book and ended up speeding through it in a day. Parker is a flawed and unlikeable protagonist, but one that really resonated with me. The writing was amazing and I am definitely looking forward to reading even more from the author.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. Personally, this book was not my cup of tea. I really enjoyed Parker’s character change throughout the story and come to terms with what happened to her. I admired her bravery in the end and her decision to see a psychiatrist.

**4.5 stars**
Cracked Up to Be is about a seemingly perfect girl who is having a pretty spectacular unraveling. It appears something has caused her to have some kind of breakdown but we have no idea what. You don’t really piece it all together until late in the novel, through her flashbacks, and it’s obviously traumatizing. This book will break your heart and definitely make you shed some tears. But, Parker is also snarky, sarcastic and has great moments that show she's human; she’s just really broken right now. There’s also a nice, new guy that will make her more vulnerable and approachable. Parker is a girl that many people can see themselves in, probably at least at some point in their life. She is a character that will stay with me for a very long time.

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I really liked this book. Parker was hilarious from the first page. It was hard to believe she was ever someone who tried to be perfect bc she was so good at being a mess and pushing people away. I didn't think the twist was as great as I was hoping but I enjoyed the characters very much

When I originally requested this ARC on Netgalley, I had no idea that this was actually a release of Courtney's first book.  I guess when it first came out back in 2008 it was completely overlooked, so since the success of Sadie, Courtney decided to give it another shot.  I'm so glad she did.  The one thing I can always count on from Courtney is a hard-hitting contemporary that will completely break me by the end of it and she certainly succeeded here.  The main character Parker is incredibly unlikeable but I never hated her exactly - I felt angry with her at times.  Her choices were frustrating and honestly repulsive at times, but I still felt for her.  I don't know how Courtney does it, but she makes her characters so authentic and real, that you can't help but feel compassion, even when they are making huge mistakes.  I can't say a lot about plot because I honestly didn't figure this one out and it gutted me when I did, so I think you should just let it all play out.  I would recommend to go into this one in a good mental state, it's a very rough read.  I didn't cry until I finished the story, then I just lost it and let all the emotions out.  It's just that kind of book.

This book is a tough one. If you’ve read Courtney Summers before, then you probably know what to expect as most of her books seemed to be hard hitting in their subjects and execution - like both Sadie and All the Rage showed me. Well, Cracked Up to Be is no exception.

I’m not gonna lie, half of it is pretty slow and you will be left wondering what’s happening but Summers has this knack for keeping you hung on her every words. I absolutely flew through this book as I wanted to know what had happened to turn Parker into the shell she is. And oh man, what a shock the reveal was.

Summers is a master at using shock to her advantage and she makes it work every single time. She’s probably one of the best YA authors I’ve read because of the fact she can easily twist and manipulate my emotions with every one of her words - she is just that good.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that Summers is the best at creating unlikeable characters that you still end up liking in the end - Parker is the prime example of it.

Honestly, you cannot go wrong when trying any Courtney Summers’ books so I would definitely recommend this one.

It's no wonder that Courtney Summers has become the reigning queen of YA thrillers. The bones of her exquisite plotting and prose can be seen in this novel as well. I can't believe I missed this gem of a book when it first came out but I will definitely be recommending it to anyone looking for a twisty, delicious thriller that perfectly encapsulates what it's like to be a teen.

On the one hand, I read the last paragraph and felt like (in regards to the entire book), “what the hell did I just read.” But the fact that I had such a visceral reaction to it... this is not the kind of book that you (or I at least) can read twice. It made me reflect on my teenage years AND also made me desperate to examine my parenting skills and techniques in order to make sure that my daughters (I have 3 of them, pray for me) don’t wind up as cautionary tales. Courtney Summers’ method of storytelling is gripping and riveting and heart-wrenching and gives voice to so many scary things about being young and a girl in this day and age. That’s as much as I can articulate right now... 5 out of 5 wine glasses.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn’t have high expectations since this book was written so long ago, but it definitely surprised me in the best way! Courtney Summers is wonderful!

Parker Fadley is angry.
Until recently she was St. Peter’s High’s token “perfect” girl: cheerleading captain, future valedictorian, girlfriend of the most popular boy, and favorite of all the teachers. Now Parker is distancing herself from everything that made her perfect. She’s barely on track to graduate, drinking heavily, and isolating herself from her former friends and her family. She isn’t just isolating herself though, she’s actively driving them away with her acerbic tongue and hateful demeanor. But what happened to cause such a drastic change in Parker? She isn’t saying.

Cracked Up To Be was recently rereleased for its 10th anniversary. Courtney Summers is the author of another book I read quite recently, Sadie, and I jumped at the chance to read another of her books. This book offers the same raw, unapologetic glimpse at a very realistic issue. And, while Parker might seem angry, hateful and hard to connect with for many readers, it’s worth the time to travel this book with her. The revelation of what caused her drastic change is heartbreaking and tragic.
For those who don’t shy away from the tragic and difficult characters, I highly recommend Cracked Up To Be.

*I received a copy of Cracked up to be from St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

My first Courtney Summers' book was Sadie and I loved it. Cracked Up to Be is its own narrative and speaks to a story of what happens when you (SPOILER) witness something tragic and maybe do nothing to stop it. Even though the main character annoyed me with her attitude and trying to push people away, I still understood her demeanor and why people do what they do. The story seemed very realistic, and I really did like this book.

3/5 Stars

3.5 stars
Originally published in 2008, the publisher decided to re-release the book after the recent popularity of Sadie. A book that I had crowned my favorite read of 2018! In Cracked Up to Be, we meet the unforgettable and very unlikeable Parker Fadley. Parker is a cheerleader that doesn't cheer so much anymore and in fact, speaks biting words to all around her. Her parents appear to tiptoe around her and there are many illusions made in the story that Parker's behavior is linked to her best friend's disappearance. To say that Parker is damaged, would be an understatement, as she has to report to mandatory meetings with a counselor, is failing school and often shows up at school drunk. None of her former cheer mates or her ex-boyfriend seems to be able to get through to her, but new student Jake might finally be able to break Parker's steel fortress.

The mysterious circumstances that lead to Parker's downfall and her crusty exterior kept me reading. Parker was a good girl gone bad and I just needed to get to the bottom of it. Of course, the ending is left to the reader's interpretation, but I closed my book hoping that for Parker, there is health and happiness at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date 04/02/20
Goodreads review 15/02/20

I do not know how Courtney Summers does it, but she always manages to write these beautifully broken protagonists that the reader loves to hate or hates to love. Parker Fadley is no exception. She is so mean and unlikable, yet I spent the entire book wanting to scream at the guidance counselor and her parents to get this poor girl some real help.

Because of these types of characters, I will read anything this author writes.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance copy.

Wow. Courtney Summers did it again (or already did it, since this is a re-release). This book, while not a thriller, is a book I didn't want to put down. I kept thinking about it when I couldn't read and made extra time to read! Highly recommend if you are a fan of Courtney Summers other books. A must read.

Parker has always been type A, needed if everything to be perfect to the point of obsession, but now she wants everything and everyone to go away. She is determined to be perfect at being alone, but her friends and family won’t let that happen. A horrible things happened and she is self-punishing but it all comes crumbling down just like her walls. I loved this book and much like In her book Sadie, the author forces you to think and feel in ways you might not have otherwise!

I really enjoyed this book! This is my second Courtney Summers book and I have really enjoyed her writing. She definitely keeps my attention and makes me feel like I cant put the book down or I am going to miss something. I really felt that I connected with Parker and could really feel what she was going through. Huge thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this opportunity!!!

I’m a fan of Courtney Summers’ writing and the often heartbreaking stories she boldly tells of girls who are angry and sad and recovering from trauma.

It’s interesting to me that there’s so much emphasis on the characters as unlikeable. I totally see why people classify them that way. And there’s one of her books where I really struggled with liking the main character, but it’s definitely not this one.

Parker’s clearly a mess and in the midst of a pretty sharp downward spiral. There’s a constant tug of war in her over punishing herself for her past mistakes and yet still wanting to be loved despite them, even though she doesn’t feel like she deserves it.

I’m often really moved by the community element in the stories I read, and the community around Parker in CRACKED UP TO BE definitely moved me. Her friends and teachers aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But they care about Parker, and in their sometimes weird, sometimes broken, sometimes imperfect ways, they continue to reach out to her and try to help her in her recovery. That really got to me. And in a way I thought it showed other sides of Parker than she wanted to show us in her version of her story.

I saw other readers comment that they were driven to know what had happened to Parker. It remains a mystery through most of the book, but it drove me forward. Her behavior convinced me that something terrible had happened, and I knew that either she would have to face it or be destroyed by it.

CRACKED UP TO BE is, at times, a difficult/dark read, but I spent every page rooting for Parker, hoping for her to find a breakthrough and be able to start healing. It’s a great book for fans of angsty stories like WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart and YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.