brmadeyouup

Title: Made You Up
Author: Francesca Zappia
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fiction
First published: May 19th 2015
Finished reading: July 14th 2015
Pages: 448
Rating 5

“Believing something existed and then finding out it didn’t was like reaching the top of the stairs and thinking there was one more step.”

myrambles1review

After reading a lot of raving reviews at the book blogging community, I just couldn’t resist any longer and picked up my copy of Made You Up. I was a bit afraid to start reading it because of all the hype around this novel, but it ended up being just as beautiful as the gorgeous cover. Francesca Zappia did more than a great job of showing us around in the mind of a girl with schizophrenia. The main character Alex is not your typical character and seeing things through her schizophrenic eyes definitely makes the story itself even more interesting. Alex can’t really tell what’s real in her world and which parts her brain makes up, and as a reader you are not really sure either. She is quite a unreliable narrator, but I loved her as a character. More precisely, I really liked all the main characters and the way Francesca Zappia described them! There’s a hint of mystery and suspense and I definitely didn’t see the end coming. Made You Up is what you call a full package and I would definitely recommend reading it!

shortsummary1review

Alex has been diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was little and she has been having difficulties figuring out what is real and what is actually a delusion ever since. She fights a daily battle to stay sane and uses the pictures she takes with her camera to try to find out when her schizophrenic brain is messing with her. She is determined to convince everyone she is sane enough to go to college, but her parents are not completely convinced. When she goes back to school she runs into Miles; the same boy she thought she had made up at the supermarket all those years ago. Is he real? And can she really pretend to be normal?

finalthoughtsreview

I really loved reading Made You Up. The main character Alex is an unreliable narrator, but it makes the story that much more interesting to read. The characters felt real and I loved the interaction between Alex and Miles. The obsession of the principle with the scoreboard was a great subplot as well. And those plot twists! This story is simply addictive and I loved Francesca Zappia‘s writing style. Definitely recommended!