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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
High school and middle school me would have gone feral over this. So that's why, even though I could tell it would be 3 stars for adult me, I had to stick this one out. It's dorky to the point of cringe and I didn't care about the actual comic but the story and the positive mental illness rep kept me intrigued. But I still don't like Wallace, and every time I hear his name, I *will* be thinking of Elyse Myer's pillowpet.
What a great read! So different from many other books I've ready, but so relatable for today's youth. Great writing!
This book was a surprising find on my local library shelf and tbh I didn't realize that other people realized it existed until I saw in in the Goodreads nominees for this year. I hadn't heard or seen much hype for this book in the communities that I glean book recs from and as a result, I am pleasantly surprised to see this book among the nominees.
I was in just the right mood to read this book as I was on a hunt at the time for some good ya contemporary "romance" books and this hit all the marks for my criterium. I read either two ways in general but I found myself reading (pacing-wise) this book differently. I spaced out my chapters over the week I read it, which is not a way I usually read, and I think this is a result of the very consistent and even pacing of the book. It was most certainly not the hardest book to read but I pleasantly enjoyed the pacing.
On a completely different note, this book was so exceptional. I would consider myself a "connoisseur" of ya contemporary as I have read almost every ya contemporary from the last 10 years and they are easily my favorite guilty (I feel no guilt about them) reads. I have several criteriums for a good ya contemporary and this book hit all the marks.
My first necessary attribute of good ya contemporary is a good premise. In other words, what is different about the protagonist and what makes the story readable and worthy to read. The premise of the book is very strong; a girl who suffers from depression secretly is the author/artist of a very famous webcomic. It's a great premise that grabbed my interest instantaneously because of its strong relatability. The premise is relatable and interesting and fairly unlike anything I've seen from ya contemporary.
Another important aspect of ya contemporary in my opinion (and I'm sure everyone can agree) is a romantic interest. You need a good boy/ girl (let us be honest it's mostly boy.) Interaction with the romantic interest is what exacerbates the books conflicts and Zappia did a fantastic job with the love interest Wallace in this book. She doesn't make him too perfect and in fact, she let a lot of the characters physical traits be let up to the reader's interpretation which I really appreciated. Wallace is a well-developed character and instead of just being a plot device is actually a solid character of his own that I could see having his own novel.
The premise and love interest are very strong but I didn't feel as if the symbolic location in the book was very well developed. We have all read contemporary ya, we all know what I am talking about, the place in the book that has meaning for both of the main characters and is the place that keeps popping up and is the place where everything happens. This is the curve in the road in the characters town where Wallaces parents died and the place that Eliza feels drawn to. I didn't feel that this location was particularly fleshed out because it was only mentioned 3 times in the entire book and even though it is supposed to be important it doesn't seem all that important. Th importance wasn't stressed as much as it probably should have been but it isn't that important overall to the quality of the book.
I really enjoyed this book I recommend it to anybody looking for some good depression representation and a really solid ya contemporary. It will definitely be a book that I will be recommending to many of my friends looking for a new ya contemporary novel. It was really fun and enjoyable and had a good ending I enjoyed.
I was in just the right mood to read this book as I was on a hunt at the time for some good ya contemporary "romance" books and this hit all the marks for my criterium. I read either two ways in general but I found myself reading (pacing-wise) this book differently. I spaced out my chapters over the week I read it, which is not a way I usually read, and I think this is a result of the very consistent and even pacing of the book. It was most certainly not the hardest book to read but I pleasantly enjoyed the pacing.
On a completely different note, this book was so exceptional. I would consider myself a "connoisseur" of ya contemporary as I have read almost every ya contemporary from the last 10 years and they are easily my favorite guilty (I feel no guilt about them) reads. I have several criteriums for a good ya contemporary and this book hit all the marks.
My first necessary attribute of good ya contemporary is a good premise. In other words, what is different about the protagonist and what makes the story readable and worthy to read. The premise of the book is very strong; a girl who suffers from depression secretly is the author/artist of a very famous webcomic. It's a great premise that grabbed my interest instantaneously because of its strong relatability. The premise is relatable and interesting and fairly unlike anything I've seen from ya contemporary.
Another important aspect of ya contemporary in my opinion (and I'm sure everyone can agree) is a romantic interest. You need a good boy/ girl (let us be honest it's mostly boy.) Interaction with the romantic interest is what exacerbates the books conflicts and Zappia did a fantastic job with the love interest Wallace in this book. She doesn't make him too perfect and in fact, she let a lot of the characters physical traits be let up to the reader's interpretation which I really appreciated. Wallace is a well-developed character and instead of just being a plot device is actually a solid character of his own that I could see having his own novel.
The premise and love interest are very strong but I didn't feel as if the symbolic location in the book was very well developed. We have all read contemporary ya, we all know what I am talking about, the place in the book that has meaning for both of the main characters and is the place that keeps popping up and is the place where everything happens. This is the curve in the road in the characters town where Wallaces parents died and the place that Eliza feels drawn to. I didn't feel that this location was particularly fleshed out because it was only mentioned 3 times in the entire book and even though it is supposed to be important it doesn't seem all that important. Th importance wasn't stressed as much as it probably should have been but it isn't that important overall to the quality of the book.
I really enjoyed this book I recommend it to anybody looking for some good depression representation and a really solid ya contemporary. It will definitely be a book that I will be recommending to many of my friends looking for a new ya contemporary novel. It was really fun and enjoyable and had a good ending I enjoyed.
3.65 ⭐️
This book opened the perspective of a creator or an author and the pressure anyone with a following will feel. It also followed the struggles of social anxiety, panic disorders and selective mutism.
Eliza hid behind a screen as her cult following buzzed around her not being able to disturb her protective little bubble. Her whole life practically revolved around her comic web series MONSTEROUS SEA. Until she met Wallace a new kid at school. Who surprise surprise turns out to be the famous rainmaker or something. — I have no idea why I’m making a blurb let’s start
So I had a nostalgic moment of the YA contemporary feels. As this book was structured and had similar styles to pre 2014 contemporary novels. Which made me miss all the oldies.
I love how it incorporated Wallace’s writing as well as Eliza’s art. As someone who wanted to write a graphic novel it feels more tangible to grasp that idea of creating a story through art.
I also had a little bit of allusions to TFIOS and Fangirl. If you know what I mean in the best way possible. I thought the characters were fun especially Emmy and Max.
The book also showed the impact of Eliza work as so many people loved her craft.
The reason why I rated it that much was because I personally thought it was a rather general contemporary and I know I stated above that it reminded me of oldiE YA but it just didn’t stand out. I predicted most of the things happening but nevertheless I enjoyed the book. It was my first Zappia book. Keep up the work !!!
This book opened the perspective of a creator or an author and the pressure anyone with a following will feel. It also followed the struggles of social anxiety, panic disorders and selective mutism.
Eliza hid behind a screen as her cult following buzzed around her not being able to disturb her protective little bubble. Her whole life practically revolved around her comic web series MONSTEROUS SEA. Until she met Wallace a new kid at school. Who surprise surprise turns out to be the famous rainmaker or something. — I have no idea why I’m making a blurb let’s start
So I had a nostalgic moment of the YA contemporary feels. As this book was structured and had similar styles to pre 2014 contemporary novels. Which made me miss all the oldies.
I love how it incorporated Wallace’s writing as well as Eliza’s art. As someone who wanted to write a graphic novel it feels more tangible to grasp that idea of creating a story through art.
I also had a little bit of allusions to TFIOS and Fangirl. If you know what I mean in the best way possible. I thought the characters were fun especially Emmy and Max.
The book also showed the impact of Eliza work as so many people loved her craft.
The reason why I rated it that much was because I personally thought it was a rather general contemporary and I know I stated above that it reminded me of oldiE YA but it just didn’t stand out. I predicted most of the things happening but nevertheless I enjoyed the book. It was my first Zappia book. Keep up the work !!!
How can I want something so badly but become so paralyzed every time I even think about taking it?
Eliza Mirk is a name that should belong to a comic book character. Not necessarily a cool one but at least a low level villain.
Real life Eliza is neither of those things. She's quiet and awkward. Her parents relentlessly try to get her into sports even though they are well aware she isn't athletic like her younger brothers. Sully and Church don't understand Eliza anymore than she understands them. And, honestly, with Eliza going away to college in a couple of years she doesn't see the point of trying to connect. Real life feels secondary to the world Eliza has made for herself and her fans online as Lady Constellation, the creator of the enormously popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Between her comic, fans, and her online friends Eliza doesn't need anyone else.
Eliza's secret life collides with her real life when Wallace Warland transfers to her school. Online Wallace is Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writer. In real life he is the first person who's managed to not only draw Eliza out of her shell but actually make her want to stay there.
Eliza's carefully ordered life is turned upside down when her secret is revealed. As she deals with the fallout Eliza will have to decide if letting everyone in her life--online and off--know the real her is worth the risk in Eliza and Her Monsters (2017) by Francesca Zappia.
Eliza's first person narration is interspersed with excepts from Monstrous Sea fanfiction, message boards, emails, and illustrations of parts of the Monstrous Sea comics done by Zappia. This story is character driven but also fast-paced as Eliza's world slowly starts to expand with help from Wallace. Eliza struggles with anxiety as she pushes against the limitations of what she feels capable of managing versus what she actually wants.
Eliza and Her Monsters sounds like it will be a story about a comic and a secret identity--maybe with a little romance. Instead it's really a story about connection within a fandom and finding your thing and your people but losing yourself along the way. It's also about fixing that--a lesson Eliza learns throughout the course of the novel.
Zappia offers an honest and thoughtful portrayal of a character with anxiety here and some interesting perspective on what it means to create and engage within a fan community. Eliza's online friends are given as much, if not more, weight than her real life friends in a way that will feel authentic to anyone who's ever made friends through social media whom they may never meet in person.
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
After her secret life as Lady Constellation comes out, Eliza suffers crippling doubt and anxiety as she is faced with drawing more Monstrous Sea installments with everyone knowing her identity. Honestly, I didn't understand Eliza's doubts and paralysis in the face of creating after her identity was revealed. It was one of those things that didn't compute. Then in August I had one of my own tweets go viral on Twitter gaining thousands of RTs/impressions and bringing almost a thousand new followers to my feed. Suddenly, Eliza's reaction started to make a lot more sense as I struggled myself with how to move forward while knowing so many people were watching me. It's a hard thing to adjust to and learn to ignore.
Once that started to make sense I was still left with one major issue: I hated the way Eliza's relationship with Wallace played out. Throughout their friendship, Wallace is working to novelize the Monstrous Sea comic--something that Eliza loves and supports. After she is outed, Wallace reveals that he has a book deal with a publisher for that novelization once it's completed. He needs Eliza's permission which she readily gives. But he also needs Eliza to finish the comic so that he can finish the novelization. Something she feels incapable of doing in the face of everyone knowing her name and watching her, ready to pounce.
Wallace doesn't understand this until Eliza almost considers suicide in the face of all of this pressure and instead of supporting her her only wants what he needs from her. Aside from issues of these publishing logistics (none of it sounded quite right within the text) it felt out of character for Wallace to suddenly negate Eliza's concerns in the face of his own ambition. Every other aspect of their relationship was sweet, but this thread with the publication of Monstrous Sea was frustrating at best and problematic at worst.
**END SPOILERS**
Eliza and Her Monsters is a perfect book for readers who liked Fangirl (especially if you didn't skip the fanfic parts) and comics fans looking for something new. Recommended for readers seeking a book that offers sarcasm, pathos, and affirmation in equal measure.
Possible Pairings: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Don't Cosplay With My Heart by Cecil Castellucci, The Truth Commission by Susan Juby, In Real Life by Jessica Love, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes, Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
Eliza Mirk is a name that should belong to a comic book character. Not necessarily a cool one but at least a low level villain.
Real life Eliza is neither of those things. She's quiet and awkward. Her parents relentlessly try to get her into sports even though they are well aware she isn't athletic like her younger brothers. Sully and Church don't understand Eliza anymore than she understands them. And, honestly, with Eliza going away to college in a couple of years she doesn't see the point of trying to connect. Real life feels secondary to the world Eliza has made for herself and her fans online as Lady Constellation, the creator of the enormously popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Between her comic, fans, and her online friends Eliza doesn't need anyone else.
Eliza's secret life collides with her real life when Wallace Warland transfers to her school. Online Wallace is Monstrous Sea's biggest fanfiction writer. In real life he is the first person who's managed to not only draw Eliza out of her shell but actually make her want to stay there.
Eliza's carefully ordered life is turned upside down when her secret is revealed. As she deals with the fallout Eliza will have to decide if letting everyone in her life--online and off--know the real her is worth the risk in Eliza and Her Monsters (2017) by Francesca Zappia.
Eliza's first person narration is interspersed with excepts from Monstrous Sea fanfiction, message boards, emails, and illustrations of parts of the Monstrous Sea comics done by Zappia. This story is character driven but also fast-paced as Eliza's world slowly starts to expand with help from Wallace. Eliza struggles with anxiety as she pushes against the limitations of what she feels capable of managing versus what she actually wants.
Eliza and Her Monsters sounds like it will be a story about a comic and a secret identity--maybe with a little romance. Instead it's really a story about connection within a fandom and finding your thing and your people but losing yourself along the way. It's also about fixing that--a lesson Eliza learns throughout the course of the novel.
Zappia offers an honest and thoughtful portrayal of a character with anxiety here and some interesting perspective on what it means to create and engage within a fan community. Eliza's online friends are given as much, if not more, weight than her real life friends in a way that will feel authentic to anyone who's ever made friends through social media whom they may never meet in person.
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
Spoiler
After her secret life as Lady Constellation comes out, Eliza suffers crippling doubt and anxiety as she is faced with drawing more Monstrous Sea installments with everyone knowing her identity. Honestly, I didn't understand Eliza's doubts and paralysis in the face of creating after her identity was revealed. It was one of those things that didn't compute. Then in August I had one of my own tweets go viral on Twitter gaining thousands of RTs/impressions and bringing almost a thousand new followers to my feed. Suddenly, Eliza's reaction started to make a lot more sense as I struggled myself with how to move forward while knowing so many people were watching me. It's a hard thing to adjust to and learn to ignore.
Once that started to make sense I was still left with one major issue: I hated the way Eliza's relationship with Wallace played out. Throughout their friendship, Wallace is working to novelize the Monstrous Sea comic--something that Eliza loves and supports. After she is outed, Wallace reveals that he has a book deal with a publisher for that novelization once it's completed. He needs Eliza's permission which she readily gives. But he also needs Eliza to finish the comic so that he can finish the novelization. Something she feels incapable of doing in the face of everyone knowing her name and watching her, ready to pounce.
Wallace doesn't understand this until Eliza almost considers suicide in the face of all of this pressure and instead of supporting her her only wants what he needs from her. Aside from issues of these publishing logistics (none of it sounded quite right within the text) it felt out of character for Wallace to suddenly negate Eliza's concerns in the face of his own ambition. Every other aspect of their relationship was sweet, but this thread with the publication of Monstrous Sea was frustrating at best and problematic at worst.
**END SPOILERS**
Eliza and Her Monsters is a perfect book for readers who liked Fangirl (especially if you didn't skip the fanfic parts) and comics fans looking for something new. Recommended for readers seeking a book that offers sarcasm, pathos, and affirmation in equal measure.
Possible Pairings: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Don't Cosplay With My Heart by Cecil Castellucci, The Truth Commission by Susan Juby, In Real Life by Jessica Love, The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes, Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
I have to be honest: despite the high reviews, I didn’t find the appeal of this book. Wallace was manipulative, and I was immediately put off by his personality. The fact that he goes to Eliza after she had a panic attack — which i can tell you, are NOT fun and very serious — and guilt trips her into finishing Monstrous Sea by saying that his failure would be her fault?? The fact that he is VISIBLY ANGRY at her for not telling him??? That made no sense to me, and clearly the relationship is abusive — YET THEY STILL END UP TOGETHER!
Commonly, YA is notorious for romanticizing and promoting abusive relationships. It’s become so normalized that relationships such as these come across as “normal” or “healthy”, simply because oh, well he apologized so clearly he’s sorry. Just because someone says sorry doesn’t mean they won’t do it again. Sorry doesn’t mean corrected behavior. And since the book ended, I can’t evaluate Wallace’s character and if his behavior changed, but if he’s *that* kind of person, I can say it hasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely adored the first part of the book, before I realized how manipulative and horrible Wallace was. The idea was creative, and I like the whole Monstrous Sea comic idea. One other thing I disliked is that the excerpts of the comic pages made no sense to me, and I didn’t know much about the comic by reading the book. It gave me Fangirl vibes, and I disliked Fangirl as well.
Commonly, YA is notorious for romanticizing and promoting abusive relationships. It’s become so normalized that relationships such as these come across as “normal” or “healthy”, simply because oh, well he apologized so clearly he’s sorry. Just because someone says sorry doesn’t mean they won’t do it again. Sorry doesn’t mean corrected behavior. And since the book ended, I can’t evaluate Wallace’s character and if his behavior changed, but if he’s *that* kind of person, I can say it hasn’t.
Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely adored the first part of the book, before I realized how manipulative and horrible Wallace was. The idea was creative, and I like the whole Monstrous Sea comic idea. One other thing I disliked is that the excerpts of the comic pages made no sense to me, and I didn’t know much about the comic by reading the book. It gave me Fangirl vibes, and I disliked Fangirl as well.
Would have been 5 stars, but I'm still mad that
Spoiler
Eliza didn't drop Wallace like a hot potato when he pressured her to finish the comic for HIM to make money. Yes, I know the book resolved it. No, I don't feel like it was resolved properly.
man I'm the exact target audience for this book and it felt so stinkin false to me. I WAS a high schooler who spent hours on the Internet talking to online friends and writing stories way late into the hours to the point where my parents were likely concerned... though they never brought it up to me like Eliza's parents did. Honestly her parents were better than mine, they really tried to get her out of the house, which -- good! Heck, I'd needed that.
I didn't really care for the characters, especially Eliza. She felt so whiny to me. And again I WAS this girl (minus the ridiculous fanbase). I did a lot of eyerolling reading this.
It just felt fake to me. I'd been so excited to read this book, but as I slogged through it I felt completely disconnected to the protagonist. Her life didn't resemble anything I could really relate to. I think she was just really self-absorbed which is probably why I had trouble connecting. It just made me so mad by the end, though. I couldn't get invested at all.
I didn't really care for the characters, especially Eliza. She felt so whiny to me. And again I WAS this girl (minus the ridiculous fanbase). I did a lot of eyerolling reading this.
Spoiler
That part where she goes online and neither of her online friends immediately respond to her vent message and she feels "so alone in the world woe is her" like??? As someone who still has multiple very close online friends, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CAN'T ALWAYS BE THERE AT YOUR BECK AND CALL (just like regular friends). They have lives, schedules, separate timezones! Sweetheart calm down they'll respond when they can. The entitlement really rubbed me wrong.It just felt fake to me. I'd been so excited to read this book, but as I slogged through it I felt completely disconnected to the protagonist. Her life didn't resemble anything I could really relate to. I think she was just really self-absorbed which is probably why I had trouble connecting. It just made me so mad by the end, though. I couldn't get invested at all.
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced