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darlingqod's review against another edition
5.0
I think I'm a little biased here because I've wanted this book so bad, there's just really no emotion else but love towards this novel.
Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I'd love this novel even without the hype I've had in me even months before I actually purchased a copy.
Nonetheless, I'm pretty sure I'd love this novel even without the hype I've had in me even months before I actually purchased a copy.
ceha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emleemay's review against another edition
4.0
“Sometimes I think people take reality for granted.”
I stand by my earlier claim - YA contemporary is where it's at this year. I thought this book was excellent. Compelling, addictive, really weird and excellent. It was such an unusual novel; I can personally say I've never read anything quite like it and it's a great book for discussion. Such an unreliable narrator, constantly blurring the lines between reality and hallucination.
Alex suffers from paranoia and schizophrenia. Her world is full of colours, objects, people and noises that may or may not really be there. She cannot trust her own senses, so she takes pictures of the world around her, knowing that any hallucinations will eventually fade and the reality will be left behind in the image. And I just loved the way the story unfolded.
See, years ago, Alex was first diagnosed when she recounted an incident that no one else seemed to think happened that way. Despite being haunted by this strange false memory, she always told herself that it was part of her mental illness and she had to accept that her memory was lying. Only... then she meets Miles and she begins to wonder if everything about that day was in her head, or if maybe there's something more to the story.
It's fascinating. You don't know what's real and what isn't. The exploration of the line between reality and imagination kept me turning pages at a crazy pace to find out the truth. And it's such a charming little read with a cast of diverse and interesting characters. The dialogue is engaging and witty, without feeling strained like [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg]'s sometimes does.
I think I liked Alex and Miles because they're both kind of unlikable. Hehe. Alex is moody and antisocial; Miles is a total pain in the ass. But the weird relationship between them made me like them and made me care about them both. The story predictably takes the romantic route, but it happens very gradually and feels like a natural progression. Not the slightest whiff of insta-anything.
Very enjoyable and very unique (at least to me). Highly recommended to all fans of YA contemporary.
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I stand by my earlier claim - YA contemporary is where it's at this year. I thought this book was excellent. Compelling, addictive, really weird and excellent. It was such an unusual novel; I can personally say I've never read anything quite like it and it's a great book for discussion. Such an unreliable narrator, constantly blurring the lines between reality and hallucination.
Alex suffers from paranoia and schizophrenia. Her world is full of colours, objects, people and noises that may or may not really be there. She cannot trust her own senses, so she takes pictures of the world around her, knowing that any hallucinations will eventually fade and the reality will be left behind in the image. And I just loved the way the story unfolded.
See, years ago, Alex was first diagnosed when she recounted an incident that no one else seemed to think happened that way. Despite being haunted by this strange false memory, she always told herself that it was part of her mental illness and she had to accept that her memory was lying. Only... then she meets Miles and she begins to wonder if everything about that day was in her head, or if maybe there's something more to the story.
It's fascinating. You don't know what's real and what isn't. The exploration of the line between reality and imagination kept me turning pages at a crazy pace to find out the truth. And it's such a charming little read with a cast of diverse and interesting characters. The dialogue is engaging and witty, without feeling strained like [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg]'s sometimes does.
I think I liked Alex and Miles because they're both kind of unlikable. Hehe. Alex is moody and antisocial; Miles is a total pain in the ass. But the weird relationship between them made me like them and made me care about them both. The story predictably takes the romantic route, but it happens very gradually and feels like a natural progression. Not the slightest whiff of insta-anything.
Very enjoyable and very unique (at least to me). Highly recommended to all fans of YA contemporary.
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bbarto's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
pragreads's review against another edition
4.0
Holy shit, was this book awesome. The characters were so complex and beautiful, and the mental illnesses were so portrayed, I tumbled headfirst into love right from the start.
I opened this up for a cute, heartwarming read: and I found both. But that's not all I found. I found pain, struggle and acceptance. I found out how much I take reality for granted. Not everybody gets to, and that's something we never think about, do we?
I'll admit hardly know anything about schizoprenia, whatever I knew before starting this book was from the [b:Angelfall|15863832|Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)|Susan Ee|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464206558s/15863832.jpg|16435765] series, where Penryn's mum is schizophrenic. [b:Made You Up|17661416|Made You Up|Francesca Zappia|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413485149s/17661416.jpg|24651804] made me question reality itself.
What if nothing is real? Does it matter?
How do I know what is real and what my head made up? How, indeed?
But these are questions I just think of in passing, because
I think, what made this book really click was the characters. Alex, Miles, Tucker, Jetta, June: they're all so easy to fall in love with. Because they deal with life™ so differently than I do, I can't help but laugh at them, laugh with them. And cry with them, too.
It's one of those books that leave you staring at your ceiling for hours in the dark. It's my kind of book.
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.
jillians_books's review against another edition
1.0
Interesting enough for the first 300 pages but just went very downhill for me after that point.
bluebeereads's review against another edition
5.0
Istyria book blog ~ A World of Enchanted Books
OH MY HEART! Why didn't I read this sooner? I'm so stupid really. Okay, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet, because it doesn't matter how much I say about this book. It matters what I say and if you haven't read this book yet, I hope that what I said convinced you.
Made You Up is a wonderfully diverse book that touches upon mental health issues. This is something particularly hard to write about because it's very easy to get it wrong. And if you get it wrong, the whole book falls apart. Luckily this one didn't fail. Everything was handled so perfectly that it's hard for me to believe that this is a debut novel. I mean, let that sink in for a moment. This wonderful and amazing book is a debut. Really now. To say I'm eager to see what this author brings us next is an understatement.
My favorite part about this novel is not its diversity however. It's the characters. They were so very real and I loved them all so very much! Alex was an amazing protagonist and I loved her so much. She brought so much humor to this book, which I didn't expect going into it. I can't even describe how awesome she is, really. Of course I loved the side characters too. Art, Jetta, the triplets, Tucker,... All of them. So much love! But my favorite character, next to Alex, is Miles. I loved him from the start. So freaking much. And I get why some would hate him, but I didn't. It's because of these characters that I got so many feels. SO MANY FEELS. And the romance. THE ROMANCE. Ahh it's a ship for the ages, people.
Oops, not very short... Oh well. If you haven't read this book yet... WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? Go read it. NOW. Don't look at me like that. Go read it.
OH MY HEART! Why didn't I read this sooner? I'm so stupid really. Okay, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet, because it doesn't matter how much I say about this book. It matters what I say and if you haven't read this book yet, I hope that what I said convinced you.
Made You Up is a wonderfully diverse book that touches upon mental health issues. This is something particularly hard to write about because it's very easy to get it wrong. And if you get it wrong, the whole book falls apart. Luckily this one didn't fail. Everything was handled so perfectly that it's hard for me to believe that this is a debut novel. I mean, let that sink in for a moment. This wonderful and amazing book is a debut. Really now. To say I'm eager to see what this author brings us next is an understatement.
My favorite part about this novel is not its diversity however. It's the characters. They were so very real and I loved them all so very much! Alex was an amazing protagonist and I loved her so much. She brought so much humor to this book, which I didn't expect going into it. I can't even describe how awesome she is, really. Of course I loved the side characters too. Art, Jetta, the triplets, Tucker,... All of them. So much love! But my favorite character, next to Alex, is Miles. I loved him from the start. So freaking much. And I get why some would hate him, but I didn't. It's because of these characters that I got so many feels. SO MANY FEELS. And the romance. THE ROMANCE. Ahh it's a ship for the ages, people.
Oops, not very short... Oh well. If you haven't read this book yet... WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? Go read it. NOW. Don't look at me like that. Go read it.
thebookberrie's review against another edition
4.0
For a book that is about a girl suffering from schizophrenia, not being able to trust reality and what was real or not, this book was surprising funny. Told by an unreliable narrator, this book was pretty mind trippy, and in a good way! Which is probably my favorite thing about unreliable narrators- things aren't ever really what they seem.
To start, I loved Alex and her fight with her mind. You'd think she'd be either whiny or melodramatic but nope, she was quirky and weird but funny and even though her case in life wasn't the easiest, she still tried her hardest to be normal.
Enter in a love interest who is a jerk, a know-it-all, and mostly emotional distant and what could go wrong? Honestly it was a relationship that you'd think wouldn't work out, but then surprising they turn out perfect for each other. And also without insta-love or a love triangle! Score!
Plot twists that blew my mind and conspiracy theories that I am still not that sure about, but such an enjoyable read!
To start, I loved Alex and her fight with her mind. You'd think she'd be either whiny or melodramatic but nope, she was quirky and weird but funny and even though her case in life wasn't the easiest, she still tried her hardest to be normal.
Enter in a love interest who is a jerk, a know-it-all, and mostly emotional distant and what could go wrong? Honestly it was a relationship that you'd think wouldn't work out, but then surprising they turn out perfect for each other. And also without insta-love or a love triangle! Score!
Plot twists that blew my mind and conspiracy theories that I am still not that sure about, but such an enjoyable read!
desertlover's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes I think people take reality for granted.
Eliza and her Monsters is one of my top YA reads of 2017, so I wanted to read go back read the author's debut novel. While I appreciate the overall message of this book, I have a major issue with the lack of research into schizophrenia. I am by no means an expert on the subject, but the inconsistencies of terms and symptoms is distracting. Also, the actions of Alex's parents are completely over the top and not properly addressed. The ending left me feeling underwhelmed. Maybe I should have waited longer to read this without the greatness of Eliza fresh on my mind.
Obviously, Zappia has shown drastic improvement in her writing/research abilities, and I won't hesitate to read her next book.
Eliza and her Monsters is one of my top YA reads of 2017, so I wanted to read go back read the author's debut novel. While I appreciate the overall message of this book, I have a major issue with the lack of research into schizophrenia. I am by no means an expert on the subject, but the inconsistencies of terms and symptoms is distracting. Also, the actions of Alex's parents are completely over the top and not properly addressed. The ending left me feeling underwhelmed. Maybe I should have waited longer to read this without the greatness of Eliza fresh on my mind.
Obviously, Zappia has shown drastic improvement in her writing/research abilities, and I won't hesitate to read her next book.
meganmindj's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really enjoyed the story, along with Alex's journey. She was a lovable character, and I couldn't get enough of her perspective. Her friendship with Miles also greatly contributed to the book. Even though there were things about Miles I disliked, he was a complex character who went through a lot of intriguing growth.
However, the author did not thoroughly research schizophrenia, and there is a bit of misinformation in the book concerning the disorder. Any author who writes a book about a disorder, especially if it's such a crucial part to the story, should fully research the disorder to do it justice, instead of glamourizing and spreading misconceptions about it. It's unfortunate that the author didn't do this, as hearing that Alex's struggle with schizophrenia was unrealistic and vastly different from those who do have schizophrenia made the conclusion of the story less enjoyable and moving.
However, the author did not thoroughly research schizophrenia, and there is a bit of misinformation in the book concerning the disorder. Any author who writes a book about a disorder, especially if it's such a crucial part to the story, should fully research the disorder to do it justice, instead of glamourizing and spreading misconceptions about it. It's unfortunate that the author didn't do this, as hearing that Alex's struggle with schizophrenia was unrealistic and vastly different from those who do have schizophrenia made the conclusion of the story less enjoyable and moving.