TTT: Top Ten Author Duos You’d LOVE To See Write A Book Together

This feature is hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.

I wasn’t sure how easy or hard this topic would be, but I wanted to give myself a challenge. Go check out my dream parings.

Emery Lord & Jessi Kirby
-If these two ever wrote a book together, I would need to stockpile a LOT of kleenex to get through their book-

Sarah J. Maas & Marie Lu
-These two write badass ladies and have beautiful writing. Imagine how amazing their collaboration would be –

Mary E. Pearson & Renee Ahdieh
-Okay, someone needs to make this happen. Badass ladies again plus fabulous world building-

Christa Desir & Courtney Summers
-I have a feeling if these two EVER wrote a book together, I’d need a drink to calm the hell down-

Tamara Ireland Stone & Courtney C. Stevens
-These two write characters that are wonderfully & heartbreakingly real. I would lose my crap if they ever wrote a book together-

Brandy Colbert & Tess Sharpe
-Two of my favorite & most underrated authors. Both of these ladies wrote books that broke my heart, and pushed the envelope on those tough topics-

Francesca Zappia & Katrina Leno
-These two wrote about mental illnesses in heartbreakingly real ways and they both exceeded my expectations when I did read their beautiful books-

Becky Albertalli & Amy Zhang
-This is a bit of a wild card pick, but Amy’s writing is stunning and Becky’s first book was quirky and adorable. I’d be thrilled if they wrote a book together-

Trish Doller & Peggy Kern
-These two authors have written some of my favorite books. Books that have been hard to read at times, but awesome books nonetheless. If they wrote a book together, it would probably be raw, realistic and amazing-

Abigail Haas & Amanda Panitch
-These ladies are the QUEENS of mind fuckery. My goodness, if they EVER wrote a book together, I’d probably spontaneously combust-

If you did a TTT post this week, leave me the link in the comment section. If we have any of the same picks, don’t forget to tell me.

Review: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Book Title: Made You Up

Author: Francesca Zappia

Published Date: May 19th, 2015

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Greenwillow Books via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

I knew instantly this book was right up my alley. There is such a shortage of YA books dealing with mental illness, and that disappoints me. Mental illness is such a taboo subject, but by writing this book, Zappia shows us the realities of schizophrenia, and we see clearly that these teenagers are just trying to be as normal as possible.

At first, the book is kind of slow, but as the book continues, and we’re introduced to the rest of the group that Alex will be doing community service with, I could tell that I was going to fall in love with this book, and boy did I ever. I fell in love with this book more and more every single chapter. That’s how special this book was.

Alex is a paranoid schizophrenic, and she copes with that by doing perimeter checks, taking pictures and taking medication. She’s starting over in a new school after being kicked out of her previous school for spray painting the word communists on the gym floor, with bold red paint. Over the summer she’s been working at Finnegan’s, a restaurant and she met Tucker there. Tucker was an absolute sweetheart. He was by her side throughout this book. Even when she begins spending more time with Miles. Many years ago, Miles and Tucker had a serious falling out which resulted in their friendship ending. Tucker doesn’t trust Miles, but he worries about Alex, even as Alex tries to assure Tucker that Miles is not a bad person.

She’s sure she remembers Miles from ten years ago when she freed the lobsters at the supermarket. He helped her, of that, Alex is certain. Even though her own mother is insistent that wasn’t what happened. I wasn’t sure if I liked Miles, and for awhile there I wondered if Miles was even real or was he just another delusion.

Miles has his own demons and while it takes him awhile to open up to Alex, he finally lets her in and that moment is beautiful and heartwarming. He’s not afraid of her. Even when she lets him in on what’s going on with her, he doesn’t run away. Neither do any of the kids in the after school community service group. Even when the cat is out of the bed metaphorically, they stand by her side. I looooved that part. So many kids who have mental illness don’t have any friends because the mental illness scares them. Plus the very negative stigma that having mental illness brings with it. Teens that deal with mental illness also deal with the isolation that often accompanies it.

I loved Alex’s family, they were so supportive, though to be honest I was peeved at her father a lot of times. He should have been there physically more than he actually was. A lot of the stress fell squarely on her mom’s shoulders and I worried about her mom too. She was trying to keep everything afloat, but it was clear to me that she struggled.

I didn’t realize how much I had fallen in love with this book and it’s characters until I reached the end of it. I hugged my Kindle and bawled my eyes out as I finished this book. This book was so important, and I would even make the argument that it needs to be considered required reading. I know it changed me in ways I was never expecting. 5 stars to this book that combines and important topic with a likable protagonist and an endearing boy.

TTT: Top Ten Books I’m Looking Forward To In 2015

This feature is hosted by the ladies of The Broke and the Bookish

This list was one of the easiest & hardest lists I’ve ever had to compile. I definitely went over ten books with this list, and probably could have gone up to 20 if I hadn’t stopped myself.

Proceed to the list I’ve created for today!

 Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

-Yes, yes, YES. I am so excited about this book. I ended up really enjoying Cruel Beauty and was super excited to hear about this book as well. Glad I have an e-ARC-

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke (Prisoner of Night & Fog #2) by Anne Blankman

-I loved, LOVED Prisoner of Night and Fog so when I got an e-ARC of the sequel I was so excited and happy. I cannot wait to go back into this world that Blankman created-

 Return to the Dark House (Welcome to the Dark House #2) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

-This book ended up surprising me in a really great way, so I’m excited to see where the author takes the story in book 2-

Ensnared (Splintered #3) by A.G. Howard

-Cannot wait for this book. I’ve loved the first two books of this trilogy and given how book 2 ended, I cannot wait to see what happens next!-

 The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

-I am forever grateful to my Secret Sister who managed to nab an ARC of this book for me. Not only do I have it in my possession, it’s personalized by Doller for me. I have enjoyed Doller’s previous books and am excited to see what this book holds-

A Court of Thorns and Roses by S. J. Maas

-Um, just LOOK at that cover. Absolutely stunning. I haven’t read Maas’ previous books, but I definitely want to at some point in 2015. I am so excited about this book. I can only hope the inside matches the gorgeousness of the cover-

 Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby

-GIMMIE! Oh wait, I have an e-ARC of this one. I love books that have organ donation as a plot. It’s a personal thing as I have serious heart problems and may need a heart transplant someday-

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

-I got drawn in by the cover first, and then I read the synopsis. I love books that feature mental illness. I hope it depicts it accurately or I’ll be disappointed-

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

-Gorgeous cover alert! I am so excited about this book and I think I’m going to love this book. Cannot wait to get my hands on it-

Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu

-Whatever this woman writes, I’ll be excited to read it. Plus, that cover is really cool- 

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

-Yet another author whose book I’ll always read. This book sounds EXACTLY like something I’ll love. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one-

The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die #2) by Danielle Paige

-I loved Dorothy Must Die and I am so excited to get my hands on this sequel. I can only hope it is as awesome as the first book was-

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows
-This book looks amazing. I read the sample I got from Edelweiss and was obsessed with it. Now I need the full version. Plus, look at that cover, guys?-

So what books are you really looking forward to in 2015? If you did a TTT, leave me the links so I can go check out your list.