Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (December 2008) Page Count: 214 Reading Level: Ages 14-UP Summary: Perfect Parker Fadley isn't so perfect anymore. She's quit the cheerleading squad, she's dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she's failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she's playing games...but what they don't know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn't something she can say out loud. It isn't even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her. My review: I like the name given to the main character in the above summary. Parker does try to be perfect and it's this need to be the best in everything that acts as the catalyst to her downfall. When the perfect girl tries to 'loosen up' she goes so overboard