01/04/2021
Nineteen-year-old Lo Denham’s name isn’t short for lonely, but it could be: after her parents died in a car accident that scarred Lo and left her near death, her adored older sister Bea joined the Unity Project, an insular Upstate New York religious group that’s constantly fighting accusations of culthood. Lo longs to be a writer, but though she’s landed a job at a Vice-like magazine, also upstate, she’s stuck as its editor’s assistant. When she witnesses a suicide that turns out to have links to the Unity Project, she embarks on an investigation of the secretive, seemingly well-meaning group and her sister’s whereabouts. By turns driven, vulnerable, and impulsive, Lo gets closer and closer to the Project’s charismatic, damaged leader, risking everything to find the truth. Alternating Lo and Bea’s viewpoints and moving around in time, Summers (Sadie) makes effective use of each character’s limited knowledge, creating a twisty plot that’s full of hooks. Ages 13–up. Agent: Faye Bender, the Book Group. (Feb.)
"This book is brave and raw and exciting and wisewise about girls and women, weakness and strength, and the bittersweet beauty of being human." - Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood Series
"Masterful and devastating. The Project welcomes you into its world with the warmth of a minister and peels back the psychology of its charactersjoiners and questioners alikewith a precision only Courtney Summers is capable of. Trust me: there is no flaw in The Project." - Somaiya Daud, international bestselling author of Mirage and Court of Lions
"Courtney Summers has done it again: Broke my heart and pieced it back together in unexpected ways. The Project is a beautiful, thrilling testament to love. It takes a compelling deep dive into what makes people want to belong and you'll leave it gasping for air. This book is a baptism for your soul." - Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know and The Way You Make Me Feel
"Completely electrifying from start to finishI can't think of another writer who takes the risks Courtney Summers does and sticks the landing every single time." - Kara Thomas, author of The Cheerleaders and The Darkest Corners
"Courtney Summers has, once again, written a devastatingly perfect novel. The Project will charm you, thrill you, and ultimately gut you, all while challenging every preconceived notion you had about cults and our relationship with them." - Kaitlin Ward, author of Girl in a Bad Place and Lie to Me
Praise for Courtney Summers:
"A riveting tour de force." - Kirkus (Starred Review) on Sadie
"Summers excels at slowly unspooling both Sadie’s and West’s investigations at a measured, tantalizing pace." - Booklist (Starred Review) on Sadie
"A heartrending must-have." - School Library Journal (Starred Review) on Sadie
"A taut, suspenseful book about abuse and power." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on Sadie
"Flat-out dazzling." - A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window on Sadie
"A haunting, gut-wrenching, and relentlessly compelling read." - Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Carve the Mark and The Divergent series on Sadie
"The propulsive, riveting novel that started it all." - Karen M. McManus, New York Times bestselling author of One of Us is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret on Cracked Up to Be
"Cracked Up to Be was my first introduction to the vicious brilliance that is Courtney Summers. Right from the opening lines, that breathless hammering of beats that illustrate the terrifying and true experience of high school, I knew I was in the hands of a writer who would be honest with her readers, who would even be brutal. This book changed me as a reader and as a writer. I could never go back again. After being gutted by a Summers novel, why would anyone want to?" Nova Ren Suma, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Walls Around Us
"Cracked Up to Be is a blisteringly realistic exploration of high school and the trauma that can occur during adolescence. Its brutally honest portrayal of Parker Fadley and her world is unforgettable. A modern classic." Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of The Revolution of Birdie Randolph and Little & Lion
“This book is a raw, exposed nerve: all the mess we shouldn’t see, shouldn’t be, wrapped up in the story of one unforgettable girl. Courtney Summers and Cracked Up to Be rewrote the rules and for that I am forever grateful.” Rebecca Barrow, author of This Is What It Feels Like
“Parker Fadley is THE seminal unlikable female character of modern young adult literature. One of my favorite books of all time, Cracked Up to Be is absolutely riveting from first page to last.” - Laurie Devore, author of How to Break a Boyand Winner Take All
★ 11/01/2020
Gr 9 Up—A young woman's determination to reveal the truth behind an apparent cult exposes a more complicated look at doubt and belief than she could have imagined. Lo Denham barely survived the car accident that killed her parents. Her sister, Bea, credits her miraculous recovery to Lev Warren, leader of the Unity Project, an outwardly innocuous religious group that performs acts of service and community outreach. Bea gives up everything to join them. Years after being abandoned by her sister, Lo—who works as an assistant at an investigative magazine—follows in her path, desperate to uncover the truth behind the Project and to save her sister. With promises of atonement, redemption, and salvation, Lev's message begins to penetrate Lo's skepticism—how far will she go to get the real story? And once she discovers it, can she bear what it may reveal? Masterfully written and pulling no punches, the narrative moves back and forth in time, showing events from both Bea and Lo's perspectives. Summers creates and sustains almost unbearable tension, exploring sacrifice, loss, forgiveness, miracles, surrender, grief, and lies. The unflinching look at Bea and Lo's desperation is devastating, especially as both chase healing and salvation to counteract emptiness and loss. Readers will question the truth and everyone's motivations in this world full of manipulation and mind games. Secondary characters are of various races; Bea and Lo are described only as having brown hair. VERDICT A gripping, flawless psychological thriller ready to leave readers shattered.—Amanda MacGregor, Parkview Elem. Sch., Rosemount, MN
★ 2020-11-12
“Let go of all you know you are.”
Lo Denham is a budding journalist whose sister, Bea, joined the Unity Project after the car accident that killed their parents and left Lo with physical and emotional scars. Lo is adamant that the Project—ostensibly a community outreach and social movement—is a cult since she has not been able to see Bea since she joined. An opportunity to interview its charismatic leader, Lev Warren, leads Lo to question everything she thinks she knows about Bea, the Project, and herself. Bea, however, was lured in by Warren’s powerful, welcoming teachings after witnessing something that could only be called a miracle. The novel is told in different timelines, presenting the two sisters’ perspectives in Summers’ hallmark pull-no-punches writing style that centers vulnerable girls and their experiences of the world. The disconnect between what readers suspect is happening, given the subtle clues peppered throughout, and what its main characters believe reality to be creates an almost unbearable level of suspense, maintained until the very final moments of the story when the truth is finally unveiled. The beauty of the story lies in its focus on the downtrodden, the vulnerable, and the earnest, expressed with an enormous amount of empathy. The sisters are White; there is diversity in the supporting cast.
A powerful, suspenseful, and heartbreaking thriller about identity, sisterhood, and belonging. (Thriller. 14-adult)
This audiobook is essential listening. Narrators Therese Plummer and Emily Shaffer shine as Lo and Bea Denham, two teenage sisters whose lives are upended when their parents are killed in a car accident. The younger sister, Lo, injured in the accident, is sent to live with her reclusive aunt. The older sister, Bea—whose survival guilt has left her particularly vulnerable—falls prey to the leader of a religious cult. The story is told through dual points of view. Shaffer’s take on Bea offers a chilling portrayal of a teen who slowly unravels as the cult’s abuse escalates. In contrast, Schaffer’s grief-and-rage-filled portrayal of Lo has listeners rooting for the abandoned younger sister to pry her sibling away from the dangerous cult. G.P. 2022 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine