The Children’s Book Review | December 10, 2015
Made You Up
Written by Francesca Zappia
Age Range: 15+
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (May 19, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-0062290106
What to expect: Mental Illness
Made You Up is Francesca Zappia’s debut novel and features a new kind of heroine that readers are sure to find interesting. This quirky tale features a teenage girl, Alex, who is trying to figure out her place in the world and longs to discover if she is more than just “crazy.” Despite her diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, she is determined to prove that she can handle living a “normal” life.
Alex takes readers on a paranoid schizophrenic adventure as she tries to fit in at her new school, East Shoal High School. She knows fitting in won’t be easy with lobster-red hair and her reliance on taking pictures to determine what’s real and what’s not.
“I didn’t have the luxury of taking reality for granted. And I wouldn’t say I hated people who did, because that’s just about everyone. I didn’t hate them. They didn’t live in my world. But that never stopped me from wishing I lived in theirs.”
Alex’s fresh start is her last chance to prove to her mother that she can act like a normal teenager or it’s a one-way trip to the asylum. Then she meets Miles, mysterious and borderline-dangerous, who introduces her to a new kind of normal that makes her question everything. To make matters worse, Mr. McCoy, the school’s principal, has a weird obsession with the scoreboard in the gym and has been acting very strange. Together, Miles and Alex, along with their crew of misfits must work to solve the mystery of the scoreboard before someone ends up hurt, or dead.
Zappia’s carefully crafted tale will keep readers guessing what’s real and what’s not throughout the entire story and leave readers shocked with a surprising twist in the end. Readers will embrace Alex and cheer her on in her struggles and relate to the feeling that everyone is imperfect. You too will find yourself enjoying the world of paranoid schizophrenia more than you’d like to admit. Teens ages 15 and up would enjoy this story most.
Add this book to your collection: Made You Up
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About the Author
Francesca Zappia lives in central Indiana and majors in computer science at the University of Indianapolis. She spends most of her time writing, drawing her characters, and reading. Made You Up is her debut novel.
Made You Up, by Francesca Zappia, was reviewed by Michelle Morse. Hadley. Follow along with our articles tagged with Mental Health and Young Adult Fiction to discover more great books for teens.
