{Book Review} Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

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Rating: 4/5; Great writing, liked reading it but didn't love it. May or may not read it again.

RD: 2008

Age R: 13+ because of material that may not be suitable for the kidsters.

Synopsis:
This book is Courtney Summer's debut and it's about a teenager who used to be at the highest spot in the social ladder and now she's not. The cute new guy is quite curious about her and wants to know how she wound up being the sarcastic off putting girl she is now. How did she get from most popular girl to not-so popular girl? What happened to this chick? Obviously something did and it has to do with the disappearance of a student. Through flashbacks, some amusing dialogue, and quite the writing we gradually get to find out. 

Thoughts:
I was surprised by how much I did not like the story, yet I kept reading this book. The writing was just so very good! The story was uninteresting to me, including the revelation at the end, but I could not put the book down!
I adored how Courtney Summers gives the reader a glimpse into the past through passages thrown in here and there in the middle of the story. She tells us a piece of information then adds more to it the next time she gives a flashback. Gradually the reader gets to learn what the heck happened to Parker.
After finding out the whole story for why Parker is who she is, I honestly was not pleased. I just think the protagonist could have and should have reacted in a different way. I don't think she made wise decisions at all and for that I did not like her as a person/character.
In a nutshell, this story is about a girl who, as you read, had something occur to her and you, just like the new guy, get curious about her past. You and him want to know what happened to make perfect Parker not so perfect. You will love the writing and the characters (you may even feel sad for many of them as I did), but maybe not the decisions many of those people make. By the way, I just want to note that most of the time, the dialogue made me laugh quite a bit. :)
I just have such mixed feelings about this book. I liked the writing but not the story. It's so odd. I really liked reading it but may not feel like re-reading it again. I don't know. It's a strange sort of liking ;) See now I keep thinking about the writing again and how into it I was and how I might just like re-reading it again. Sigh. How confusing huh?

Quotes:

"[They] talk through art and discover they have so much in common it's amazing. Like, They Could Be Boyfriends If They Didn't Like Vaginas So Much Amazing."

"Goldfish die at the drop of a hat, Mom. It would die of completely natural causes after two weeks and I might think it was something I did and I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Puppies are harder to kill and more challenging to take care of and I'm pretty sure that's the point."