Cracked Up to Be

Cracked Up to Be Reader’s Report
Parker Fadley used to be perfect. She used to have perfect looks, perfect boyfriend, perfect grades, and a perfect life. She was the head cheerleader, she was popular, and she had it all. And then, something changed, Parker showed up in school drunk, failed her classes, broke up with her boyfriend, quit the cheerleading squad, neglected her appearance, estranged her friends–anything she could do to ruin her life, she did. She became self-destructive and hated and is now in danger of not graduating. People are demanding the truth, but she will never give it to them, why and what is eating her? In the book Cracked Up to Be, author Courtney Summers follows the spiraling flight path of the queen bee, as she falls from perfect student to perfect mess. The protagonist and antagonist are ideally placed in this story according to Aristotle’s Unities and the author’s characterization of Parker is spot-on, her actions don’t always make sense, but that is why she does make sense, and it is interesting how Summers does it. Summers created a very interesting plot which mixes the present with mysterious flashbacks to the past, to the events leading up to Parker’s transformation, in order to keep the suspense, and its intriguing.
Cracked Up to Be is an excellent and intense novel because the protagonist is created in a way that you will never forget her. Parker’s actions do not always make sense, but that is why she does make sense. It is a part of what makes her real. Real people do not act like characters whose places in a story are neat and follow a consistent chain of events that makes logical sense. And characters that do not make logical sense seem unrealistic. But in this novel, Summers is able to balance that perfectly with Parker, who makes sense even when she does not. Parker’s voice is also fantastically done; it is distinct and fits her personality well. Parker is a very well-developed character. You can see Parker’s downward...