Francesca Zappia

Made You Up

"Armed with her camera and a Magic 8-Ball and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college"--

Made you up

Kellie Davis

I hate to say it but I thought this book was just boring. The characters were ok at best but forgettable. I was so excited to read this one too since I enjoyed her other book. 2.5 stars at best.

4.5

I'm gonna make this short. Reading this was so trippy and I don't know what's real and not real anymore.
I LOVED IT. SO GOOD. SO SO GOOD.

Melissa Palmer

Book #101 Read in 2015
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (YA)

Alex has schizophrenia. This has caused her to be ostracized by her fellow classmates. Her actions have caused her to be put into a different school, where she decides to not say anything about her illness. She thinks things are going well until she is outed by a vicious classmate. Then people begin to avoid her again. Alex struggles to live like a normal teen and have a normal relationship with her friends and boyfriends. But her illness makes that very difficult to do. This was a honest and powerful look at a mentally ill teen. It was a great read that I would recommend for both high school students and adults. I borrowed this book from the town library.

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Izza

3.5 stars | I thought the schizophrenia symptoms Alex experiences in this novel fall into cliché, but other than that, the story is pretty entertaining and I really got attached to the characters :)

Tia Malt 

4.5 stars

This book was my everything. And by that i mean Miles was my everything. And Alex was my everything. And all if the club really. But Miles, Miles is who truly got to me. Everything in his and Alex's relationship was perfect, because it so obviously wasn't perfect. The lack of romanticising mental illness, and Alex accepting that she needs help really made this book for me. Alex's hallucinations/ real experiences are always interesting to decifer, but the major shocker (which im proud to say i figured out about 4 chapters before it was revealed) was who it was that she was hallucinating. No more said. Amazing book.

Carley Whitehead

Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. For fans of Silver Linings Playbook and Liar, this thought-provoking debut tells the story of Alex, a high school senior—and the ultimate unreliable narrator—unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. Alex fights a daily battle to figure out what is real and what is not. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8 Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She's pretty optimistic about her chances until she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She's not prepared for normal. Can she trust herself? Can we trust her?

Charlie Winchester 

A wonderful romance if you enjoy friends to enemies to lovers. Strong female lead and good side characters.

Jas Wang

4.5 stars.
It feels like a simple contemporary but I freaking loved it.
It made me so sad but happy at the same time, it's weird but I like it.

Jen Estrella

Sometimes I think people take reality for granted.

Actual Rating: 4.5/5 - I've read tons of YA contemporaries, but this is by far the only one that I devoured in hours. A near-perfect rating for mental health awareness, although delusions and hallucinations were mistakenly used at times (hint: hallucination - perceptual problem; delusion - erroneous belief) Bonus points for the slow-burn romance that kept me up at night. Review to follow (I just need to rest my eyes lol)

María Belén

This was good, a bit sad for me but good.

Made You Up takes the unreliable narrator concept to a whole new level. Almost up until the end I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. I liked that much of the story took place in Alex's high school and that she went trough real and believable situations that can happen in high school to teenagers and I think that made everything more convincing.
Another thing I liked about this book was how the romance was handled, this could have easily gone the way other YA books about diseases go, but there wasn't any of that instalove thing going on and it wasn't sappy at all, it was natural.
On the other hand, this book got me thinking about how people live with this mental disease everyday and it made me sad, especially at the end of the book, which I thought was very good by the way, but still it made me a bit sad. 

All in all, Made You Up is a quick, good and enjoyable read.

Candyce Kirk

Elaine

PHÄNOMENAL!!! (*No, no, those are not tears...Just the rain...*)

Sometimes you find one of these rare books and it changes everything. For me Made You Up by Francesca Zappia was exactly that: lifechanging . It changed the way I see the world, giving me hope, that we can be happy and find peace despite our weaknesses. 
This story was tragic, funny, heart-warming and hopeful all at the same time. I cried, I laughed and throughout the book I more and more felt a connection to the story, the characters and especially Alex. 

I really liked Alex as the main character and found it fascinating to see the world with her eyes, as she is trying to cope with her life. How she tries so hard to get it right is so brave throughout the whole book. She is such a unique character! She can never be sure about the world but still keeps trying, despite the fact that it is hard sometimes and despite all her insecurities. 
At first I didn't quite get her parents, as I thought her Mom's behavior was a bit odd, but as I learnt more and more about them I slowly understood what it is like to really love a child.

Miles, oh Miles. At the beginning I didn't know what to make of him, especially as Alex wasn't sure about him either. But as the story progressed, and I saw more and more of him I began to understand why he was the way he was and that in fact he is one of the strongest people I have every read about. The way he handled certain situations and the way he was with Alex made me realize how caring he actually is, behind his 'I-don't-care-about-anything' facade. 

In fact I became more and more attached to most of the characters as the story progressed especially Miles, Alex and Tucker now have a special place in my heart. Tucker, the bestest of friends, can I be your friend, please?

I also have to say that in my opinion the German added a nice element to the story. As German is my native language however I could be a bit biased, as I understood every word. :)

All in all, this was one of the most touching and life-changing books I have read in a while. 
All I wish for now is a sequel,  oh please let there be a sequel!! Until then, I will just reread the hell out of my copy until it falls apart and I have to get a new one!

Emily C Peterson

I picked up this book on a whim, and gosh am I glad I did!
This book was beautifully written with short snippet-y chapters that keep you fully engaged in the story. I was pulled in from the get-go, and I raced my way through this book.

I absolutely love the original idea of having a paranoid schizophrenic trying to solve a mystery because how can she know what's real, while at the same time trying to hide her mental illness? 

Such a great book and even though it JUST came out, I'm already looking forward to Francesca Zappia's follow up to this debut! 

Way to come out with a bang, Francesca!

Casie Blevins

Lynn Braden

What an amazing book! Made You Up is well written taking the difficult subject of mental illness and making it accessible to a young audience by weaving it into the life of a high school student trying to find her way in a new school. Alex suffers through the usual angst associated with high school, but wondering all the while how much of her new life is real and how much is imagined. If you read this story, have a few tissues ready because it will grab your emotions and not let go until the very end. The climax was a little hard to follow, not knowing how much was really happening in the story and how much Alex was imagining, but without a doubt, this story is well worth reading.

Kendra Hall

This book is everything, it deserves every single one of those 5 stars and it will remain one of my favourite books!

Nia C

4 Stars and a B for this one.

This is a great debut novel, it tackles so many issues at once and makes it intriguing and enjoyable to read. I loved the characterization, especially Miles and Alex and the supporting characters too. I kept freaking out that it was all a hallucination and that the book would end up screwing with me completely but it was okay. I sorta guessed the plot (well, figured it out) and who / what was a hallucination, but not too quickly. It's an enjoyable read with diverse characters and lots of Miles-Alex feels that you should definitely pick up.

Full review to come soon.

Mahasin S Ameen

How do you live your life when you aren't sure if things are real or imagined? Alex, a teenage girl struggles with knowing which things are real because of her schizophrenia. After getting kicked out of school for defacing the gym, she tries to make a fresh start at a new school keeping her mental illness a secret. In a new situation with new people, Alex isn't sure what people, objects, things are real.

It's a really amazing book that covers the topic of mental illness in such a good, refreshing way. You understand how Alex feels about wanting to keep it a secret because of the stigma of mental illness but you also deeply feel that it doesn't change who she is as a person. Really good book, very much recommend.

Andrada D

Alice in Wonderland meets real world



Oh, Made You Up, what am I gonna do with you? You were so good at some times but so unbearable at others, the only resolve was to rate you in the middle. But I wanted to like you so much! I was caught up in the hype that still exists even so long after your publication and I still need to recover. 

It was a very powerful whirlwind. As Alex has schizophrenia, things she tells you from the very start, you don't know what to trust. Who to trust. IF there is anything to be trusted (view spoiler)[The answer is no, trust no one, believe nothing, be suspicious of everything. And even in this case, expect to be surprised (hide spoiler)]


(This is how I felt most of the book)

So I was lost and confused, reading through the haze that is Alex' convoluted mind. She is THE most unreliable character I have ever met. And the worst is you can't even blame her one bit. She strives so hard to be in control, fighting not only a bloody disease but an incredibly insensitive mother. 



This was one of my main issues with this book: that damn mother and that uncaring father. You see your child is struggling so bad and you just discourage her with every occasion and try to have her admitted to an asylum to get rid of her for good, or you force her to constantly see a therapist nicknamed Gravedigger, that your poor daughter loathes so much, and you keep pushing her to obey her even when she is at the limits of her resistance. And here is another issue with this book. I am no doctor, no psychiatrists, no psychologists, I am a huge nobody in the medical field. But as a sensible reader, through this whole book I wondered: are there no other pills for her affliction? Or, at least, can't she have a therapist who is an ally instead of an enemy? Her battle is hard enough at it is anyway. And I truly despise books who portray therapists as evil creatures who try to incriminate and destroy the confidence of their patients. Everyone who does this just digs another nail in the coffin of the trust, already so little, people have in therapy. 



The introduction of Miles changes the course of the narrative. Of course, we get to know him from the very beginning, but as Alex gets to discover the raw truth about this apparently huge jerk, she transforms him into an anchor that keep her floating. I found it to be incredibly beautiful how Alex relies on Miles not to provide actual help but to understand and support her where nobody else will. They get to know each other and see themselves resonate on a number of so many levels. It's impossible not to love Miles. Or ignore him. He owns this book, sometimes more than Alex does, and his story is both heartbreaking and empowering. And because of the huge role he has in Alex' life is so difficult and painful to deal with the possibility of him being a figment of her imagination.

However, some character quite central to this book IS indeed imagined. This was the best, most surprising plot twist I have experienced so far. I could never imagine a hallucination to be so believable. (view spoiler)[ I mean, to imagine for 4 years you have a little sister that loves and support you and interact naturally with her, only to discover it was only your mind toying with you and not even your pictures can be trusted was shocking. Finding out Charlie didn't follow her to Mc Coy's house was bad enough. Finding out she never existed gave me goose bumps and a hole in my stomach. Well played, Zappia, well played  (hide spoiler)]


Moving throughout the book, one lesson I learnt for sure was how the apparently sane people are much crazier than the crazy but they are so much better at pretending. The "villain" of this book is caricatural in a manner that is both scary and laughable. 



And it was all going well for this book until the ending. Oh, that ending. I am a girl who loves HEA but under certain circumstances could live with any well-played denouement. In my opinion, here is not the case (view spoiler)[ Locking Alex in an asylum cancels her entire effort to be admitted to a college and the whole procedure was so humiliating, reinforcing the idea that the "lunatics' are not like the rest, they should be kept apart, hidden from the public eye and convinced they could never fit  (hide spoiler)] Needless to say, I was sadden and angry and hurt. 



This book takes a wild spin on the theme of mental issues and ends up being a shallow, biased portrayal that does little to redeem itself in the end. Not being able to be used as either a cautionary tale or a piece of advice, Made You Up still manages to shine through the extraordinary dynamic between Miles and Alex. I loved them both, miles and miles, I appreciated how their relationship was based not on instant love but on steady progression that climaxes in a beautiful scene, with an ending that leaves room for hope.

Although I had times when I wanted to rate it 5, the many faults of this book turned it into a disappointing reading of what could have been a profound, compelling account of fighting against and living with mental issues

Sarah 

This was such a great read. Reading about someone with schizophrenia was really enlightening and upsetting. What she had to deal with all the time is horrible and it really opened my eyes to it. She is such a unique character I have never read a book with the MC having something like this. The author wrote brilliantly and I struggled to put it down except working made it hard to get through it as quickly as I would have liked. Her parents also frustrated me especially with the twist I ever saw coming. It wasn't fair. I really recommend this book

Made You Up ()

Cath

It's been a while since a contemporary novel made me gush, swoon, cry internally and laugh out loud, but Made You Up did it. I can't remember when a novel last made me squeal over an adorable scene or get so attached to a character. This story is going to stick with me for a long, long time.
First we have the characters- Miles, Alex and the gang. Alex has Schizophrenia, a mental disorder that is characterized by the failure to distinguish what is real and not real. With that being said, she fights a daily battle but forces herself to cope with how it affects her life. Alex is amazing. She's strong, sarcastic, witty and smart, but most importantly she accepts the fact that she's schizophrenic and she goes on with her life dealing with it. She doesn't talk about it like it's the end of the world and she doesn't wallow in self pity or wait for people to come and rescue her. In fact, she hates it when people come close to even talking about her mental illness.

What I like about Alex is that she knows she's flawed and different, but she chooses to live anyway. Unlike other female protagonists who chooses to act like damsels in distress, Alex is independent and very capable of looking after herself. Moreover, she's not a complicated character and is in fact very relatable. She's also very lovable because of her sass and wit. Plus, she actually has emotions. Yes she's struggling and is constantly fighting a battle nobody knows about, but she's still a living human being who tries her best to make friends, works hard to build a future and even starts to have feelings for a guy just like any other teenage girl. the author does this thing where she explains the ideas of Schizophrenia through a character who struggles, endures and eventually picks herself up from it. When do you ever come across such a f***ing well-rounded character who, ironically, is mentally unstable and flawed through and through?

Now on to Miles. When we first met him, he's this cold, mysterious guy who doesn't seem to have any friends, so my first thought was 'Great. An angsty teen who probably gets good grades and lives a perfect life.' but boy was I wrong. Miles is a Historian at heart, he's brilliant, awkward, adorable and just overall a really great character. You just can't help but appreciate him in the story because of the way he reacts to the different situations laid out for them. Plus, he's German, and he's quite proud of being German despite being constantly bullied about it (yay for diversity and cool accents!). We mainly follow these two characters and it's their journey as they try to fit in with society and learn to behave in social groups. The book also revolves around Alex's family quite a bit which I appreciate as it is not often mentioned in most YA novels.

Another thing I really liked about the book is the author's writing style. She does not try to write poetically, she writes as if she is her own characters. Her writing takes you to Alex's mind and you're experiencing what she's going through. It is as if you're the character in the book, and because of that the story becomes real. There are also plot twists peppered throughout the book and I did not see them coming :o . Craziness! The ending of the book wraps everything up really nicely and although it isn't your ideal typical contemporary ending, you feel satisfied somehow.
Hoping for a new sequel would be too much at this point but I'm happy with the way it ended anyways. I loved every single thing about this book (shoutout to the ESRAS club! I adore Jetta <3 ) and I cannot wait for the author's upcoming book Eliza and Her Monsters. It's now become my most anticipated read of 2017! If you see this Made You Up anywhere, do me a favor and pick it up. Read it. Love it. Gush about it. Please, just read it.

Thank you so much HarperCollins Australia for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Irin 

"Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be- sometimes, there really is someone out to get you."
Made You Up revolves around a girl named Alex, who suffers from an illness known as Schizophrenia, which makes it unable for her to differentiate between reality and her own delusions. The story focuses on Alex's everyday struggle to adapt to the real world, and to become a normal person. Her life changes when she starts going to High School and meets new people, and even falls in love. ^_^ 
I loved, loved, loved this book so much. I haven't read such a beautiful book in such a long time.
I don't even know how to describe this book, because I'll literally run out of words. 
I would recommend this book to anyone with two eyes. Guys, please please read this book. You'll not regret it. Trust me.

Made You Up

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