made you up book review // *sobs aggressively in the distance*

Title: Made You Up

Author: Francesca Zappia

Blurb (GR): 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’m not writing in my usual bullet style, because i have a lot too talk about, and i don’t want it too seem really big, chunky, blocks of text***

PROS 

I am in love with this book. from the cover, to all the pages, and even every last word of the acknowledgment page because this was just so. damn. good.

the plot was not like your ordinary sunshine, and rainbows kinda contemporary. it features a MC with paranoid schizophrenia, who moves to a new public school, and struggles too see beyond what her eyes are showing her. literally, she can’t really trust herself.

Although, this book did have an unreliable narrator, it wasn’t as complicated as A World Without You (a must read btw), and didn’t leave me confused out of my brain.  Alex was written as a “normal” character who is a major history nerd, rides a bike from Egypt. This book wasn’t solely on Alex and her struggles of being a patient with schizophrenia, it was also about her trying to make friends (which is hard regardless), and trying to figure out a way to help someone in need.

i loved the growing relationship between Miles, and Alex. hate-to-love relationships fill my k-drama addict-self. but i also loved how they genuinely cared about each other, and their relationship was just filled with up’s, and downs, but they just seemed to fit. it was a slow burning romance sort of, and i just loved it!!

the friendships between Alex, and Tucker was just awesome. it was really easy going, and sweet, but the best part is there wasn’t any love triangle. i thought there would be one, and it would get super complicated, but like almost every aspect in life i was wrong. though, this is the first time i’m glad i’m wrong. this just goes to show, that a boy and girl can have a platonic friendship. no romance needed.

aND THE PLOT TWISTS! you’d think that you’ll see things from a mile away, but nope. i was shook to my core, and some parts made want to curl up, and sob for eternity.

me when i was reading this book

Cons 

the only thing that i did have a problem with was the weird sub-plots. and to be honest, i didn’t mind it that much because it was pretty interesting, but definitely not needed.

Alex – Alex has such a refreshing, and unique voice, i fell in love with her story instantly. she can be pretty bitchy, but it wasn’t like she acted like she was perfect as well. she was flawed, and she accepted that. another great aspect that i liked about her was, how she was able too see the good in people. it was almost like she refused too judge people. she liked to question them, and see why they did it. if they  had an actual reason. i thought that, that was a trait a real-life human should acquire. i related with Alex, and i loved her.

Miles – i’m not saying that this was a super well-written secondary main character, but this was a super well-written secondary main character. miles was just so complex. he is considered a huge jerk at school. but he was actually just a boy who is suffering from the hands of his abusive father. doing anything, and everything to get his mother who was (falsely) accused of being crazy, out of a mental hospital. please someone give him a huge hug. miles just stabbed me in the face with all these feelings, yet i loved it???? yes, that’s how you know i’m crazy.

this was a really good written book (as stated above). i wasn’t really confused, and lost in the plot. everything was structured, and always manged to suck me in the story. it was just so emotionally engaging, and gave me fresh outlook on things.

 Were you planning on reading this book? Will you give it a try (please do, and tell me what you think)? Was this review even helpful?