Reviews

Serás Real? by Francesca Zappia

laurenjbooks's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bookishcarli's review against another edition

2.0

read this bc the author wrote eliza and her monsters, and eahm is definitely one of the best books ever, whereas this was just mediocre at best. alex was kind of annoying bc some of the things she said at times seemed slightly misogynistic

Spoiler

(like how she called rea a b*tch for sleeping with other guys and didn't seem to care about cliff at all when he would go and beat those guys up.)

i thought the plot twist at the end was good, though.

maare's review against another edition

1.0

There's plot and there's nice writing. But I can't forgive how it romanticises mental illness and has no clue on how schizophrenia works.

carlyroth10's review against another edition

5.0

The characters were perfect. The plot was perfect. And the book was perfect.

nightwalker's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mandiluna's review against another edition

4.0

I liked the book but felt that the way that mental illness was dealt with in the story was definitely problematic at times. The author uses Alex’s illness as a way to make the story interesting and uses many stereotypes when dealing with. Alex’s journey with her illness is not realistic at all. The plot line with the mental institution/ hospital was unrealistic, like most likely, they would not take her outside with HANDCUFFS. Like FREAKING HANDCUFFS. Alex was obviously not going to hurt anyone and logically they wouldn’t have needed handcuffs. But also handcuffs just follow the stereotype of what a mental institutions have. I’m disappointed in that sense.


But a good thing were the characters, you liked them and rooted for them til the end. ( also, Miles and Alex were very cute together.)

Edit: May 5, 2020
This story is actually really interesting and a easy read, but it is pretty problematic. You can still like this novel but acknowledging its issues is important.

joanagsilva's review against another edition

3.0

Um olhar sobre a esquizofrenia nos adolescentes. É impactante mas por vezes senti que a esquizofrenia estava a ser um pouco romantizada.

saluki's review against another edition

5.0

Schizophrenic Alex strives to live a normal, if medicated, teenage life and achieve her goal to graduate from high school. After an incident at her previous school she transfers to East Shoal and tries to keep her mental illness secret. Then she meets brainiac Miles, an aloof jerk, and the other members of the school athletic club which serves as community service for probationary students. What unravels is a story of paranoia, OCD, hallucinations, confusion and occasional fear as we, along with Alex, try to work out what scenes are imagined or real during Alex's final school year.

I like the cover but I'm not sure it reflects the contents. Blue rain could suggest Alex isn't a positive character, or she's an under-achiever, which is the wrong message but then she does see the world in a brighter colour palette than most... so it sort of works in that sense. Her friend Tucker's father defines his mental illness patients quite succinctly, they are "normal people with more quirks." And, Alex's quirks and her attitude towards her mental health felt believable.

I loved the way friendships and relationships developed or fell apart. I loved the club members. Alex's character felt authentic. This book would be great for buddy reads... so much to talk about and especially great for readers who enjoy unreliable narrators. I'll say no more.

Loved it. READ IT!

taylorreadsbooks's review against another edition

5.0

This was so good! Maybe as good as Eliza and her Monsters. This woman's writing on mental illnesses is amazing and heart wrenching. I need more!

anotherhel's review against another edition

3.0

Intelligence is not measured by how much you know, but by how much you have the capacity to learn.

This book was not what I expected, but i also didn't expect much. It was good, but not omg i can't take my eyes away good. Actually, there were times I was glad that I was forced to pause because I had to go to work or something because this book can be really depressing. But somehow it didn't felt like enough for me.

Don't get me wrong it's an interesting book; the characters are well represented and there are some quirky ones that are really fun... But at times it just felt meh. Like there are the typical stereotypes that only exist in America's high school, the **mystery** story didn't really felt like much because the book constantly puts you under the pressure that everything that she is seeing can be unreal. So you can't be sure if it's true or not.

The book also has some really good points of view. The romance is sweet and insane... Just like this book i guess. Miles though... Miles is my favourite.

"If nothing’s real, then what does it matter?” he said. “You live here. Doesn’t that make it real enough?"