Cracked Up to Be
Courtney Summers
St. Martin’s Griffin
Parker was perfect; until one monumental mistake, one night without judgement, caused her world to turn upside down.
Courtney Summers’ novel for young adults explores rock bottom, not caring about the rest of the world, the steps it took to get there (the night of the party), and the climb back up to normalcy. Through flashbacks of the party, where it all happened, Parker’s downward spiral is a new kind of reality shock. Alcohol becomes Parker’s safe haven and strict curfews her life. Weekly meetings with the school guidance counsellor and everyone watching for the signs of suicide are “the norm”.
The novel explains the strain of the teenager’s lust to be perfect in an imperfect world. So what could possibly have led the perfect captain of the cheerleading squad, honour roll student, and most popular girl in school to the brink of contemplating suicide? And why do all her friends and family not understand that she’s not worth their concern, that it was all her fault and that she doesn’t deserve anything?
When the new kid, Jake, starts to question the reason for Parker’s dark silence, she cant understand why he believes her to be interesting. With the sudden return of a participant in the fateful night of the party, Parker has to face up to her grave secret or risk forgetting the real Parker forever.
The random flashbacks took concentration to grasp a hold onto where and when the author was, but certainly left the reader waiting for Parker’s terrible secret to be revealed.
Reviewed By Séanin Steele
