I was totally confused through most of the book, and really the flashbacks of the main character made things worse for me. Once I kinda caught on to what the story was about I loved it! I have been reading a lot of upbeat teen books lately and this was a great change of pace. Parker is no longer the "perfect" teen character and that just made me love her more. She was once head cheerleader and after a party at her jock boyfriend's house; where something happens ( don't worry.. you'll have to wait for what it was); she goes on a downward spiral that ends with her trying to kill herself. We come into the story after she has been found and is back in school after her suicide attempt. She is no longer head cheerleader nor is she still dating the jock. I love that we got to see the popular side from a different perspective, she once was popular, but has alienated herself ( or at least tried) so we see the popular clique from someone who is still kinda in there but not really. And then Jake comes in, you knew there would have to be a "love" interest.. Jake takes a liking to Parker, no matter how mean or rude she is to him. He slowly weasels his way into her heart and Parker freaks out. But all good things must come to an end and it happens when a blast from her past shows back up at school. The story quickly wraps up from there and I was not at all happy with the ending. I want to know how Parker progresses and if her and Jake actually get a happy ending. ( )

Parker used to be the perfect teenage girl: popular, good student, head of the cheerleading squad, popular boyfriend..... But *something* happened, and she's trying hard to leave all the attention and popularity in the past. She just wants to be left alone. Why can't anyone understand that?

I read Courtney Summers' more popular book, Sadie, a while back, and I loved it -- thought it was spectacularly written. So I figured I'd go back and maybe start with some of her older stuff. Cracked Up to Be is her debut novel and it's gotten very good reviews as well. But I don't know...this one didn't resound with me. I know I'm not necessarily the target audience. But something about this angry, unlikeable main character of Parker turned me off. Or maybe it was the writing style of this one. I can't quite put my finger on it. I was frustrated, trying to figure out what the deal with Parker was -- why she was so angry, why she was so determined to turn people away. And even when it was finally revealed, I still didn't feel like it really justified her behavior. I seem to be in the minority on this one, but I didn't feel this one lived up to the hype. ( )

A painfully realistic YA book that isn't afraid to paint the main protagonist in an unlikeable light. It holds a lot of weight for such a short book but it delivers nonetheless. ( )

Not Related:
I feel like I've read parts of this before. You know, like flipping through a book and reading random passages. Except I didn't.
I love my twisted premonitions. All those 'I dreamed it and wow it happened' moments catch me totally off-guard sometimes.
My mind is a scary place. No wonder I love it. It's so freaking awesome.

ONWARDS

What a head-case!
My mind is sort of blank, filled with emptiness now.
Stunned.
Wow.

It's a Good Book.
Just, you know, don't be too judgemental. ( )

Parker. I don't know. She isn't supposed to be likable, is she? But I still like her. She is actually one of my favourite female characters. And that is pretty much only because she is fucked up. I am not saying she is like me because I am not like her at all.

She is a perfectionist, or used to be. But I am not, although I show those tendencies. She is rude and wants to be left alone. I don't want that, although I show those tendencies. What I am trying to say is, we are not Parker Fadley but we all show some of those tendencies.

The book was obviously about gulit and PTSD but what I like it did better than other books was imply the fact that Parker is not like that because of circumstances, but she was like that even before. She was so good at concealing it that people took her as she appeared.

There are so many little things that the book gives us an insight into and I don't even think I can clearly explain that.
When you look at Parker's relationship with her dog, Bailey, and how she wants to replace herself in her family with the dog, you understand how it feels to want to quit. I never really liked suicidal characters, but if there was any accurate description of them, it was in this book.

You also don't see bullying that leads to this behaviour, you see mistakes made by everyone that add up to something horrific. We stay inside Parker's head so much, that we can't even hate her when the truth is revealed.
Also, this was probably the first book in which romance doesn't influence the lead character, and it was positively refreshing.

For all those people who are reading 13 Reasons Why or watching that show, read this. It is better. ( )