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A review by cosmicjess
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
2.0
it was... aight. writing was fine, characters were rather 2-D but likable enough, but whew that depiction of mental illness. i'm reading this as something to read during mental illness awareness week, and this was just not it. i can't even blame the time it was written, but i can't stand the fact that there were no actual signs of alex's mental illness showing itself rather than having hallucinations and delusions (which the author decides to use interchangeably).
i wish she used this opportunity to show that schizophrenia can be more than hallucinations and hearing things; it involves disorganized thinking, loss of motor skills, apathy,the "blunting" of mood and affect, lack of social interest. i just couldn't believe a story of a teenage girl with schizophrenia not experiencing any negative symptoms, or even really positive symptoms, besides auditory and visual hallucinations - which, mind you, are incredibly common among people with schizophrenia, but not the most seen nor observed symptom.
as a social work major, and as someone who has had a break in their psyche where i experienced what was diagnosed as schizophreniform, i've had my fair share of exposure to schizophrenia symptoms, and alex's experience may be someone's experience with the disorder, but it is not a statistically accurate depiction ready enough for everyday consumers to read and think, "oh, wow, this must be what everyone feels with schizophrenia."
also - weird, but a bit of a pet peeve, i couldn't believe the part about alex being diagnosed with schizophrenia at 7-years-old. no WAY would a child psychologist DIAGNOSE a child with schizophrenia, when it may as well be bipolar disorder, lack of sleep, or, which is mostly the case in children under the age of 12, high fevers and extreme immunity compromise. schizophrenia is a diagnosis that will stay with that child for the rest of their life, and they may as well have it and all, but usually adults over the age of 18 are diagnosed, and in women, it's statistically observed even later than 18.
all in all, i just couldn't get behind the message of this book. her mother was terrible in dealing with alex's mental illness, her friends were boring, the romance was boring as well when it became an actual romance, and the ending was less than amazing. yoinks. would not recommend.
i wish she used this opportunity to show that schizophrenia can be more than hallucinations and hearing things; it involves disorganized thinking, loss of motor skills, apathy,the "blunting" of mood and affect, lack of social interest. i just couldn't believe a story of a teenage girl with schizophrenia not experiencing any negative symptoms, or even really positive symptoms, besides auditory and visual hallucinations - which, mind you, are incredibly common among people with schizophrenia, but not the most seen nor observed symptom.
as a social work major, and as someone who has had a break in their psyche where i experienced what was diagnosed as schizophreniform, i've had my fair share of exposure to schizophrenia symptoms, and alex's experience may be someone's experience with the disorder, but it is not a statistically accurate depiction ready enough for everyday consumers to read and think, "oh, wow, this must be what everyone feels with schizophrenia."
also - weird, but a bit of a pet peeve, i couldn't believe the part about alex being diagnosed with schizophrenia at 7-years-old. no WAY would a child psychologist DIAGNOSE a child with schizophrenia, when it may as well be bipolar disorder, lack of sleep, or, which is mostly the case in children under the age of 12, high fevers and extreme immunity compromise. schizophrenia is a diagnosis that will stay with that child for the rest of their life, and they may as well have it and all, but usually adults over the age of 18 are diagnosed, and in women, it's statistically observed even later than 18.
all in all, i just couldn't get behind the message of this book. her mother was terrible in dealing with alex's mental illness, her friends were boring, the romance was boring as well when it became an actual romance, and the ending was less than amazing. yoinks. would not recommend.