Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

I'm a huge fan of Courtney Summers books- I've reviewed a few of her books on this blog.   I like the stories she tells, although they tend to be a little more mature than the audience I usually write for.  Some of her books I would be hesitant to give to Intermediate students because of the topics she writes about.   

Cracked Up to Be is one of those books that is mature, deals with topics that tend to be more suited to high school students, but I would give it to a more mature grade 8 student. 

Parker is the main character, she is a deeply flawed young lady who is trying to cope with an event that happened at a party last year.  Before that party, Parker was the perfect student, daughter and girlfriend.  But something happened there that changed everything.  Now, Parker is trying to hold it together in order to graduate and escape her town so that the secret she knows never has to be told. 

Parker was a great character- sassy, smart and damaged.  She was someone who I wanted to survive in order to move forward and be successful.  I would suggest reading this book before giving it to any younger student since there are some mature topics. 

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Last summer, I read the book Holding Up the Universe  and I when I looked to see what else Jennifer Niven has written, I found All the Bright Places.  I must have ordered it right away, but didn't get around to reading it until this week. 

All the Bright Places is the story of Fitch and Violet who meet high up on the ledge of a tower close to their school contemplating life.  This chance meeting changes both of them in very significant ways.  Fitch has a fascination with death.  He often researches ways people have died and this helps him when he gets into his 'dark' moods and struggles to get out of bed and engage with the world around him.  Violet is dealing with the tragic death of her sister less than a year ago in a car accident. Violet is counting down the days until the end of high school when she can finally leave her town, her home and memories of her sister. 

Fitch and Violet are very different people whose paths do not cross much at their high school.  Violet is popular and hangs out with all the right people.  Fitch is considered a freak by his fellow classmates.  Yet somehow these two different people are thrown together and become friends.  Along the way, they help each other deal with everything life has thrown at them. 

I really enjoyed this book and the story.  There were times I was crying, and other times I was laughing.  It is a serious book, but with such beautiful moments.  Fitch is a unique character who looks at the world differently than most people.  Watching Violet deal with the grief of her losing her sister is heartbreaking. 

This book, while appropriate in many ways for Intermediate students does deal with mature topics.  Suicide is a prevalent theme in this story so I would caution anyone who wants to give this book to a student to read it first and ensure the student could handle the topic.