Reviews with content warning for Grief - Eliza and Her Monsters

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Eliza and Her Monsters, by Francesca Zappia

10 reviews

this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I knew nothing about this book when I started reading it, just that a friend recommended it to fulfill a requirement for my YA Lit class. I finished the book wanting to read everything Zappia has ever written because it is a book that will stay with me.

Eliza Mirk is the creator of the incredibly popular webcomic, Monstrous Sea – but no one besides her family and her two (online) best friends know. In her “real life,” as her parents like to call it, she’s a socially awkward senior, struggling to get through the everyday grind so she can get back to her online persona. All this comes to a head when she meets Wallace, a new student who is quiet and kind and a huge Monstrous Sea fan. The following months find Eliza exploring a new relationship with Wallace, navigating her senior year of high school, struggling to finish her webcomic, all whilst keeping her online persona, LadyConstellation, a secret. This book is beautifully written, with inclusions of chat messages, emails, and a few panels of Eliza’s art, allowing the reader to experience life as she sees it. It’s an in-depth look at mental health in teenagers, a topic that is still not talked about enough. I would recommend this book to everyone, but particularly to those who are struggling to find where they fit in, what their purpose is, and who they are.

Content Warnings

kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

pollylovesbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

frantic_vampire's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I really needed this book. Like, holy crap. Why did I wait so long to read this one? It hit home with the anxiety rep and so many other things. I feel a little wrung out emotionally from this book, but I guess that means I really needed to read it. I don’t know if it would have had the same impact if I hadn’t read it now.

I loved that this book didn’t shy away from talking about depression and anxiety. I also loved that it talked so much about the friendships that are formed online and within fandom communities. I also loved the sibling relationships! I liked that Eliza’s brothers were so protective of her but also total little brothers about everything.

I honestly loved this book and I just want to dive in for a reread right now. This deserves all the stars. And it’s getting them. I’m giving Eliza and Her Monsters a solid five out of five stars.

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lilifane's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Will I ever read the synopsis before reading the book so that I'm not totally surprised by the plot? Who knows. But it's such a fun experience to start a book and be totally taken aback by the story because it was not what I expected (since I didn't expect anything).

I love reading about protagonists who draw/write. I love reading about fandoms. And I didn't expect to find both here. Both topics are also so well done. So many of the themes in this story are important to me, and I wish I had something like this book when I was a teenager. It still hit way too close sometimes and made me feel too many things.

Especially the last 20% were... a lot and hard to read. Uff. The love for something and the urge to create vs. the pressure not only from the outside, from other people having expectations of you, but also from yourself and your own expectations.

It's hopeful, though. It gave me hope that I will some day overcome my art block and pick up a pencil again.

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ananyareadsbooks's review

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dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Summary

This book was about Eliza Mirk who draws one of the most popular webtoons on the internet, Monstrous Sea. Online, she is LadyConstellation the author of the most popular web comic and offline, she is, well - Eliza Mirk.

She is shown as this introverted personality with her only friends being online.
The plot starts when she meets Wallace Warland a.k.a rainmaker who writes Montrous Sea fanfiction and is the 2nd most popular person on her forum (after herself) and Eliza's online crush.

No one except her family in real life knows that she writes Monstrous Sea (not even Wallace) and she intends to keep it that way. Will she keep her anonymity as LadyConstellation forever or will her secret be revealed?

Review

I honestly adored how the author displayed being an internet personality and having only internet friends. From her being 'in her space' online to her parents not understanding but still trying to help. I don't know about you (😏) but I am a sucker for a good betrayal plot and the execution was done pretty well.

Now, the writing was a little confusing but not too much. I do have a critique though~

Spoiler

I didn't like how Warren only shows sympathy for Eliza after the betrayal when she's on the absolute BRINK of suicide. Could that asshole not feel for her earlier. And the author made it seem at one point of time that she didn't commit suicide because of how WARREN would feel?? Like HIS feelings are HER responsibility.

(thank you for the recommendation, lynn)

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caitbreen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

lareads_03's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-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 really loved this book! It was a little juvenile for my taste but it still held my interest and I enjoyed the story itself. It talks about a lot of Mental Health topics most people shy away from. It brings them to light in a very real way. It is also a love story, but above all it is Eliza’s story about finding herself. I absolutely loved every second of it! I cannot recommend enough. TW:This book talks about serious mental health issues. SUICIDE is mentioned multiple times throughout the story!

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a well-written book that explores the life of a teenage girl who is responsible for a web comic that has quite a huge following. Eliza isn't a fan of interacting too much with the outside world and spends a lot of her time online - this of course has been something that upsets her parents a lot. It's understandable that Eliza is frustrated that her parents don't understand but at the same time.... I think that if Eliza had taken the time to explain or at least show her parents what she was working on - sharing anything she was comfortable with - then maybe her parents wouldn't have been as concerned as they appeared to be in the book. That's a problem I think a lot of teenagers face is the lack of communication or not knowing how to communicate. The communication issue is one out of two reasons why I gave this four stars instead of five. My other reason is Wallace. I was ok with him as a character until the end ish of the novel.

Spoiler

When he confronts Eliza in her room and tells her that she has this perfect life so what's the big deal about not being able to finish a few pages...? It's his publication deal that's on the line - she needs to finish. I was raging mad - how dare he. He lost his dad to suicide - how would he feel if someone told him - you can't play football because your dad is gone? I just couldn't forgive him and I was still irked when Wallace still remained in Eliza's life in the epilogue. She should have let him go shortly after. I think my favorite scenes in this novel were the ones with the therapist. I know Eliza is only seventeen/eighteen but the therapist really helped put what I what I hope the readers felt as well into words - your creations do not define you. We are not responsible for other people's actions / life stories.

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