Made You Up-Inspired Outfit

I really loved the characters in Made You Up.  There was no love triangle (thank you, Francesca Zappia!), the characters were realistic, yet there was depth to each individual.  I could've designed an outfit for any of the book's characters, so I decided to just stick with Alex, the protagonist.  She's smart yet a bit on the outskirts, and I wanted both those traits to be featured in the outfit.  Here's what I created:

• I picked bold red pants because Alex's hair is this bright red.  Not orange or ginger--RED.  Colored pants are fun to add in a wardrobe.
• The T-shirt is a patent shirt.  With Alex and Miles always sharing random historical facts together, it seemed natural for Alex to wear a nerdy shirt like this.
• The black cardigan keeps Alex from being the center of attention and keep her comfy.  I think she would have wanted to wear something baggy--something she could "hide" in.
• I've mentioned before that author Francesca Zappia wore Converse shoes for us, so I just automatically think of Alex as wearing them, too.  A simple black pair.
• I don't think Alex would wear a lot of jewelry, just basics like this watch.

So what do you think?  Would you wear something like this?  Does it fit Alex?

Don't forget to check out my YouTube channel--I posted an October Wrap-Up video today!

REVIEW--Made You Up

Yesterday I showed off my recent author visit with author Francesca Zappia.  The students and I had a blast with Chessie--she was down to earth, easy to talk to, and excited to share her feelings on the writing process. 

So today I thought I'd give you my review of the book!  I've said many times in videos before that Chessie was compared through our Indianapolis newspaper to John Green, so I had high expectations for this book.  And I was very pleasantly surprised!  Check out my review below:

• Standalone novel
• Realistic fiction

The Gist:
Starting at a new high school is difficult for students, but it is especially difficult for Alex.  She is a high school paranoid schizophrenic, and she's switching schools because of a graffiti incident at her last school.  But keeping schizophrenia a secret from new classmates is not easy when you aren't even sure what's real in the world.  Readers simply can't trust Alex, because she can't even trust herself.

What I Loved:

• The premise of this is so fascinating--an unreliable narrator who literally doesn't know what is real or made up in her world.
• This book was written so well!  It was an easy read for my students, yet not fluff material.  Zappia's writing style is advanced and engrossing.
• I selfishly loved the Indiana setting--Meijer stores, highway trips...my students appreciated it, too!
• There was a great depth to Zappia's characters.  I wanted to know more about each and every one of them.
• Of course it wouldn't be a book about schizophrenia without a surprise ending! 

What I Didn't Love:

• I did figure out a big spoiler before it was revealed.  However, I only discovered this based on some book artwork, and NONE of my students caught it.  So I think I'm in the minority on this one.
• There were still a few questions in my mind when the book was over, especially involving Mr. McCoy and Celia.  I might have to go do some re-reading.

Overall a really enjoyable read for me!  My students loved it and it was a book to really get you thinking.  Four stars for me!

Tomorrow I'll feature an outfit based on Alex!

Author Visit--Francesca Zappia

This week I hosted author Francesca Zappia (of Made You Up) at my school to meet with my Library Media students.  I'll review Made You Up tomorrow here on the blog, but I wanted to give you a peek at our visit! 

I made a short video about the day, which you can check out here:

Made You Up has a Magic 8 Ball that appears sporadically throughout the book, so my students all wore T-shirts with 8 Ball phrases on them.

Notice that Francesca and a few students are wearing Converse?  Totally planned.

Francesca had a relaxed visit with the students, offering plenty of time for Q&A (which was perfect because they had questions after reading the book!).

We also had lunch together and played a game of "Real or Made Up."  Get it?  Made Up, Made You Up?

 

A huge thanks to Francesca for the visit!  She got RAVE reviews from the students!

MashUp Reviews

I decided to pile 4 short reviews into 1 video, so catch up here on my recent reads!

Enjoy!