Cracked Up to Be

by Courtney Summers

[Leah]

When "Perfect" Parker Fadley begins drinking at school and failing her classes, the entire school goes on high alert. Her parents have put her on suicide watch and all of her teachers watch her like a hawk. How, though, has Parker fallen so hard? What has happened to cause the captain of the cheerleading squad and the most popular girl in school to become such a mess. Parker doesn't want to talk about it though and would rather everyone just left her alone. Things are made worse when a new kid, Jake, joins the school and takes a shine to Parker. So much so that he's constantly there, constantly present and is always asking questions. But Parker can't tell him what happened that night. She can't tell anyone. Because the truth is, it could well be Parker's fault.

I actually have no idea how to review this book. I literally cannot think how to put into words just what this book has done to me. I'm kind of speechless. One thing I do know is that I have totally underestimated the Young Adult genre. When I decided to buy Cracked Up To Be I wasn't expecting the read I just got. One thing's for sure, though, I'm very happy I did buy Cracked Up To Be. When I got into the Young Adult genre I expected light and fluffy reads with a typical happy-ever-after ending much like the chick lit books I enjoy so much. Yet so far the YA books I've read haven't really had much lightness or fluffiness or happy-ever-after endings.

When Cracked Up To Be arrived on Monday and I had finished my latest book I decided to give it a read as I knew I'd be able to finish it relatively quickly as it's only 214 pages long. The book starts pretty much as it means to go on: Parker Fadley is no longer known as "Perfect" Parker Fadley and I suppose the easiest question at the beginning of the book is, "Why?". If you're looking for an easy answer in Cracked Up To Be then you aren't going to get it because Parker's fall from grace isn't told in one swift moment. No, Parker's fall from grace is fed to us slowly. Kind of like when people are on a drip. We get snippets here and there of the night Parker's life suddenly unravelled but for the most part the main focus of the book is Parker's bid to push everybody away.

But still, Parker's bid to push everyone away begs the same question of why. It's easy to ascertain that she's guilty for some reason but nothing really becomes clear until we're told exactly what happened at that party that night. And that doesn't happen until the end of the book (as you would expect). I was surprised by Parker's attitude throughout the entire book as she's very snipy and sarcastic and constantly puts people down. I found myself questioning Parker constantly and I couldn't get it right in my head whether or not I actually liked Parker. I think more than anything I admired her determination. Everyone was watching her constantly yet she still persisted in trying to get everybody to leave her alone. It was futile but Parker still didn't give up.

What really brings everything into focus for Parker is the arrival of new kid Jake. She's just as snipy and stubborn with Jake as she is with everyone else yet he still takes a shine to her and begins, in a roudabout way, stalking her and constantly asking her questions. This is how we got to know the real Parker. The Parker underneath the facade. Sure she was projecting a hard-nosed front but it was the exchanges with Jake that show she isn't as hard as she likes to make people think she is. I actually loved the rapport between Parker and Jake. I loved that he refused to give up on her and that, slowly, Parker began to reveal more of herself to him. I liked Jake, really, full stop. He was nice and persistent and, to be honest, seemed to be just what Parker needed. There are other characters in the book. Chris and Becky, friends (kind of) of Parker. I quite liked Chris but wasn't really a huge fan of Becky. The only other main characters affected by Parker's actions were her parents. I found it so hard to read the scenes between Parker and her parents. I could feel the helplessness radiating off Parker's parents and I could see Parker doing her best to make them feel even more helpless. Parker even manages to get a dog, Bailey, from her parents due to her actions; she was a master manipulator, that's for sure. I actually quite liked the dog and I thought even the dog got more out of Parker than her parents did.

Cracked Up To Be then hurtles towards the inevitable revelation of just what happened that night and I have to say I was mildly stunned. I had the feeling that I should have figured it out and it was like a lightbulb went on in my head and said, "Of course!" but I just didn't see it coming. It was definitely full of suspense and I have to say it impressed me. What makes the book though is Summers' writing. She writes Parker so well that you have to like her. Or you have to at least try and like her no matter how mean she may get. There are a few twists in the book and I admit the book did make me cry at one point. The ending of the book kinda leaves the door open for a potential sequel - right now, I would devour a sequel - but I'm sure after a few days of thinking it over (I need to think it over) I will accept the end of the book. It wasn't a bad ending but anybody that knows me knows that I like my endings tied up in a neat bow.

Cracked Up To Be quite simply blew me away. I wasn't expecting so much emotion to pour from the pages and I certainly wasn't expecting so much suspense. I actually don't even think I've done the book justice in my review. The book was truly outstanding and I think I'm going to have to read it again soon just to absorb everything about the book. It may well be only 214 pages but it's 214 emotionally-packed pages.