Made You Up
What if you couldn’t be sure what was real?
Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.
Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn’t she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.
Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.
Content Warnings: Mentions of physical and emotional abuse, use of the word “crazy.”
Please Read
A Note about Made You Up
Made You Up was written in 2011 and edited from 2012-2014. Since its publication in 2015, I have gotten notes and reviews both from readers who found the representation of schizophrenia true to their own experience and from readers who found it horribly wrong and hurtful. While I am glad this book has helped some readers and I do not want to invalidate their experience, I also cannot invalidate those who were hurt.
I am deeply sorry for misinformation about schizophrenia in Made You Up, as well as the portrayals of abuse. While writing this book, I leaned into my nostalgia for media from the 90s/2000s, a period known for making light of serious topics in damaging ways. I intended Made You Up to be a story about normalizing mental illness and finding a support system, but a good message does not negate damaging tropes. The book did have sensitivity readers for schizophrenia, but any mistakes are mine alone.
Since learning of these mistakes, I have worked and will continue to work very hard to make sure my future stories portray their issues in more true-to-life and sensitive ways. Eliza and Her Monsters was the result of that effort. When I give talks on Made You Up, I plan to speak on the issues of representation, what I got wrong, and better resources to check out.
Made You Up was never intended to be read as an educational text on schizophrenia. My research for the book was done in 2011 and before, so if the book is incorrect now, it will continue to be incorrect. If you are interested in learning about schizophrenia or would like to read other books that portray schizophrenia, here is a short list of resources:
Educational Websites
American Psychiatric Association
SARDAA (Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America)
NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health)
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Books featuring Schizophrenia
Becoming Whole by Mindy Tsai
Mind Without A Home by Kristina Morgan
A Road Back From Schizophrenia by Arnhild Lauveng
Challenger Deep by Neal Schusterman
If you are still interested in Made You Up, continue scrolling for more information.
Booklist
“Debut novelist Zappia presents readers with a wholly unreliable narrator, [but] the characters all seem authentic, thanks to Zappia’s careful attention to detail.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“The storytelling texture here recalls Andrew Smith and Sean Beaudoin…There are moments of genuine tragedy redeemed by the acceptance Miles and Alex find in each other amidst all of their imperfections; if love doesn’t conquer all, it certainly makes the battles easier to bear. Readers…will enjoy this quirky trip.”
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
“Alex is a funny, touching, determined, and smart character, and her story is complex and interesting. Fans of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars and Matthew Quick’s Silver Linings Playbook will immerse themselves in this nuanced look at trying to live a “normal” life while coping with mental illness.”
Publisher’s Weekly
“Alex’s sardonic voice and the rapid, Heathers-like dialogue will hold readers’ interest.”
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author, and for Young Adult Fiction (2015)
Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2018)