Made You Up

Made You Up is the story of a girl living as best and as normally as she can with a mental illness. Alex was diagnosed at age 7 with paranoid schizophrenia. She manages it well, and has her little quirks that help her deal with it, like photographing things she thinks might be hallucinations. At her new school, she comes across a boy that she always believed was a hallucination from her childhood. Then, she suspects something amiss with the principal and one of the students. Problem is, it’s tough to know what’s real when you can’t even trust your own eyes.

This is a wonderful, compelling, and heartfelt contemporary story. Alex seems to take control of her illness with strength and bravery, and even a touch of humor, but she’s rounded out with a few flaws and well-founded fears. There is a tender romance that starts as an icy rivalry, and it’s fun to watch Miles and Alex come together, and slowly start to understand each other. Made You Up is well-written and rings true, with a few major twists that will pull the rug out from even the most careful readers and leave them drowning in emotions.