Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Eliza and Her Monsters

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

64 reviews

christalbotheindl's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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oliviabrcka's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH OMG I JUST-

Eliza and Her Monsters is an emotional rollercoaster of a book. Also criminally underrated, I might add. Of the contemporaries I have read that center around mental health, this is definitely one of my favorites. Quick side note before I review: If you are a fan of Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, you will LOVE this. Similar concept but a little more mature. Also if you wanted to like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell but just couldn't, this if for YOU! This took the parts of Fangirl I loved and expanded on them, but it left out the parts I disliked. All in all, this is a criminally underrated contemporary and I think everyone should read it.

The only thing I really didn't like about this book was the formatting with Wallace's fanfiction chapters. It might have just been my ebook formatting but I felt like they always came out of left field and didn't really add to or go along with the story. That might have just been me but it always kind of put me in a weird spot while reading.

There were a couple of other choices that just made me feel torn, because I would have liked to see these things done differently but I understand why the author used them the way she did. The first being Wallace only confiding in Eliza about the contents of the email. I wish that he didn't burden only her with that, as it would have made for a healthier relationship, but I understand why the author made that choice. High schoolers rarely feel able to talk to a trusted adult, let alone a therapist, so I understand why he only confided in Eliza, I just wish that he had talked to an adult about it. The other thing that had me all torn up was Wallace's reaction when he finds out about Eliza's online identity. I KNEW he was going to be major upset about it, but I just wish that reveals like that weren't always so dramatic. Wallace's anger was completely justifiable, but things were so weird between him and Eliza, and then they never actually talked through anything and all of a sudden they were fine?? Again, I understand the creative choices but they weren't my favorites ever.

Anyway, on to the things I loved! Which was pretty much everything else!

Eliza as a main character is so great, with all of her layers. I loved seeing her grow. She was such a well developed character, which I find quite uncommon in YA contemporary. Refreshing!

Obviously, Eliza and Wallace are adorable. Love them. Even though at one point in my notes I was cursing out Wallace for being a jerk. I especially love that we get to see them in a healthier relationship at the end. They are just too cute!

I was totally not expecting to love Eliza's family dynamic, but by the end of the book I really loved all of them. That's possibly because of the uncanny resemblance to my own family dynamic, but I don't care. The growth of her relationship with her brothers was so sweet, and I loved how the whole family came together to support her when she needed it. Very wholesome.

I also just loved how the author handled touchy subjects around mental health. She did an amazing job of describing what anxiety feels like and how people cope with it. I also think that the scene at the turn where Eliza is contemplating _______ was super well done and also heartbreaking but very accurate. I just really appreciated the way Eliza was written as a character with mental health issues.

That's all, loved this, highly recommend!

Also, Children of Hypnos is DEFFFFINITELY supposed to be the Percy Jackson fandom I am 100% convinced. Except Uncle Rick isn't a hermit. But either way Children of Hypnos is a code name for Percy Jackson and that's all.

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nox's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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gribn's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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