ARC Review: Made You Up



Title: Made You Up
Author: Francesca Zappia
Series: N/A, Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: May 19th, 2015
Pages: May 19th, 2015
My Rating: 4.5 Stars

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 tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. 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 classes begin, and 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.

Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.

  I was given an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

 Ever since taking up a class on Introduction to Psychology and learning about mental illnesses, I've always been curious about books that feature mental illnesses, which is why I immediately grabbed the opportunity to review this one. I can't say that I know much since it was just a brush-up class; however I feel like the author did a good job in making this realistic. 

 Alex battles Schizophrenia, a mental illness which one can't tell fiction from fact. Everything she sees or goes through, she has to question herself whether it's real or just a part of her imagination. What keeps her calm are her camera, her sister Charlie and her Magic 8-Ball. Then she meets Miles and the crew, and she finds friends in them. For the first time, things are getting better, but she's not used to it.

 Made You Up is an amazing book written by a very talented author. She did a great job in taking me, the reader, into Alex's world and along with Alex, I questioned whether things were real or not. In that way, the book was laced with a hint of mystery, and it kept me on my sit. Aside from that, there was the thing about Celia and the principal. I read this book in one sitting, and I regret nothing.

 Alex's friends were really amazing people that provided the book with a sense of humor, making it all the more exciting. The romance between Alex and Miles was well-developed, and it took me on an emotional roller coaster ride. The book was written in such a way that I was able to sympathize with the main character, even though I've never experienced what she was experiencing.

 The only reason that I can't give this book full stars is because I felt like things were not explained that well in the end. For example, the thing regarding Charlie was not explored much, what happened between Miles and his dad, how his mom got out, etc. It's not that I felt like the ending was rushed towards the end or anything like that, but I felt like I still had questions left unanswered.

 Either way, Francesca Zappia is an author to look out for because she can write a hell of an amazing book! I loved this and I recommend or people to read it as well.


4.5 fan-fucking-tastic stars



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