A review by tealattes
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I’m not an expert on schizophrenia so I don’t know if the representation of it in the main character was exactly accurate. I don’t think the author used it to add a quirk to the main character. It was not portrayed in that way, and instead it was a constant barrier for Alex as she was trying to make it through school as smoothly as possible. The best aspect of this novel is the characters. The high school characters in the after school club were a funny bunch and I thought Miles and Alex’s backgrounds, similarities and day to day school experiences did a great job at building their friendship. The plot itself was all over the place and I don’t usually enjoy reading fiction novels with high school settings due to the repetitive themes and flat characters, but Zappia did an excellent job at forging a connection between the reader and the characters in a memorable way. I am reviewing this book about a year after I read it and I still remember the personalities of Alex and Miles. These two were fleshed out and I could understand them not because the author listed out all their qualities, like some occasionally do, but through their actions, thoughts and page time. Alex really was someone I rooted for while reading in her perspective for ~500 pages. She is full of dry humor and sarcasm and is witty and sociable but unsure of where she stands in a new school. Some YA female characters are too unrealistically full of snark such that it becomes a chore to put up with their countless remarks for the sake of creating an angsty teenage character. This was not so with Alex. Her life had its highs and lows and it was a rollercoaster. While some of the scenes were almost parodies of high school life, it was balanced out by serious situations and struggles so that the book was not all lighthearted nor tense all the way through. I appreciated this balance and enjoyed the novel as a whole. Even if some scenes were unrealistic, I believe the emotional impact rather than the exact words on the pages have greater significance.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings