After reading a bunch of reviews, I saw that a lot of people are unhappy with the portrayal of Schizophrenia in this book and I don't know enough to agree or disagree.
I think I'll just stick to the plot. I like Alex for what she is, she is, I'm sorry if this sounds wrong, by astronomical amounts, less annoying compared to most YA protagonists. The romance in the book was alright, I'm not too thrilled about it but eh okay, I wasn't hurt by it.
There were points where the characters seemed a little too much to me and I have to admit it all made sense in the end.
I think the majority of the story, is something that Alex made up. Ah yes, wait for it, even Miles.
The author tries to drop hints that Alex's condition during the story is much worse than she narrates it to be, which made the whole book even more interesting.
It could be me over-interpreting the book but hey, I think it's much more than the surface.
Alex's ability to humanise and give stories to these "hallucinations" that she has is proof that the entire story and most of the traits that she gave these characters are made up.
However, a book could be interpreted in different ways, to those who interpreted this as a really beautiful YA novel with a great romance, I'm happy you got a happy book. As for the others, I'm sorry you had to go through a depressing story.

P.S. I MIGHT LOWER MY RATING AFTER I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ACTUAL EFFECTS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA AND IT'S MEDICATION ON PEOPLE. ( )

I want everyone to read this story. There's a lot in it beyond the plot and the "unreliable narrator" tensions and it feels important. But also, there is such a realistic sweetness that I... I want everyone to read this. Okay?

Okay. ( )

This book was so amazing. I am enthralled by the storytelling ability of Zappia and the way she completely submerges us in Alex's world, causing us to question, just as Alex does because of her schizophrenia, what is real and what is a hallucination. So sensitively written, and yet humerous and heart-warming as well. I LOVED the relationship that developed with Miles, and that she wrote two characters who weren't neurotypical and did it with such devotion and love. Watching their sweet relationship form from that first scene in the prologue was just adorable.

The sub-plot with the scoreboard and the drama at school was interesting at times, butthe true heart of this story was all Alex and Miles, and it was beautifully done. 4.5/5 stars.

Please excuse typos/misspellings. Entered on screen reader. ( )

A fine book but painful to read. It makes you wonder why a mental illness carries such a stigma compared to a physical disease like cancer. Even though knowing that I was reading an unreliable narrator I was still fairly shocked to learn that Charlie was a hallucination. Also fairly shocked that her doctors and therapist could let her continue to delude herself for years. ( )

What an amazing book! Made You Up is well written taking the difficult subject of mental illness and making it accessible to a young audience by weaving it into the life of a high school student trying to find her way in a new school. Alex suffers through the usual angst associated with high school, but wondering all the while how much of her new life is real and how much is imagined. If you read this story, have a few tissues ready because it will grab your emotions and not let go until the very end. The climax was a little hard to follow, not knowing how much was really happening in the story and how much Alex was imagining, but without a doubt, this story is well worth reading. ( )