Made You Up, written by Francesca Zappia, review by Simran Bagdiya

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia Review

         

“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. ”

Summary

Alexandra Ridgemont (“Alex”) is a girl who cannot trust herself. Miles is a guy everyone fears. Together, what will they become?In Zappia’s delightful novel, Alex is a high school senior who fights a daily battle within her life, struggling to determine what is the truth, and what is merely an illusion crafted by her devious mind. Ready with her Magic 8 ball, her camera, and her only true friend (her little sister), Alex is determined to maintain her sanity until she finishes up her senior year.

         

          However one day, before school even starts, Alex runs into Miles, who she’s pretty sure resembles someone from her childhood memories. Soon enough, Alex is thrown into the crazy world of high school parties, making friends, falling in love, and going through all the typical teenager experiences. But Alex is used to having a crazy life. She’s not prepared for normal.

          Inspiring, encouraging, and filled with bits of humor, Made You Up is a wonderful book discussing a variety of topics, and captures the struggles of one teenager’s journey in trying to decipher the difference between reality and imagination within her life.

My Opinion

I think this was a spectacular, well-written book, and definitely needs more recognition.. This book certainly made me think, and left me wondering how my life would have been if I had to spend all my days contemplating what events and what people were real and what was not. Overall, the way the author tackled several different issues and combined them all into one book was lovely.

Additionally, I thought that story unfolded very nicely due to Alex being an unreliable narrator, which resulted in me constantly flipping the pages, trying to determine for myself what was real and what was merely a hallucination.

Moreover, I enjoyed how both Alex and Miles were not crafted as “perfect people”, growing and developing as people by support.ing one another. Additionally, both character’s flaws were apparent throughout the story, causing me to like them much more than I would have, and allowing me to become more invested within the overall story.

Overall, I thought that the characters within this book had very diverse personalities at certain points, and I absolutely loved the way the author flawlessly combined all the plotlines at the very end to create a well written story addressing so many important issues.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (This book was certainly an enjoyable read, with an unique concept (for me) and is definitely now part of my favorites collection!)

Simran Bagdiya