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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Eliza draws an online graphic novel. A very popular one. When she is online with her fans and her friends, she is LadyConstellation. When she is with the bodies around her, she is invisible. When one of her online fans moves to her school, she finds it harder and harder to be one or the other. Recommend this one to my sister!
The first 5% of the book was a bit slow, the next 70% of the book was amazing. The last quarter was a whoooooooole bunch of What-The-F*ck-ery
I hated her parents, who took away her calming outlet because they "didn't get it". What's not to get? You like to exercise, she likes to draw! Not rocket science.
The book took a little bit of a dark turn, and then Wallace at the end... Just.....
I'll have to post a video review of this soon, because right now, I just can't even.....
I hated her parents, who took away her calming outlet because they "didn't get it". What's not to get? You like to exercise, she likes to draw! Not rocket science.
The book took a little bit of a dark turn, and then Wallace at the end... Just.....
I'll have to post a video review of this soon, because right now, I just can't even.....
Why, hello there, book that was made expressly for me. I totally identified with Eliza as an introverted fangirl who spends lots of time online and on my phone, but, like Eliza, I'm actually being very social online! Some of my best friends were made through fan-fiction and forums, and they live in other states and countries and time zones, but they're still great friendships. The romance was super cute and unconventional and the story reminded me a lot of Fangirl if it were set in high school. Read this if you're looking for something to whip through in a single day.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
I stayed up half the night reading it and rushed home after work to finish it.
On this my fourth or fifth time reading it, I love it even more. I can relate to both Wallace and Eliza as I have my own monsters.
October 4, 2023
I loved it just as much this time, if not more.
On this my fourth or fifth time reading it, I love it even more. I can relate to both Wallace and Eliza as I have my own monsters.
October 4, 2023
I loved it just as much this time, if not more.
This books was amazing! I could not put it down. Made me anxious and laugh and made me cry.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
WELL... that was fucking adorable.
This book reminded me a whole lot of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I found it relatable in a similar way and think it nailed 'internet life' and dealing with anxiety.
I found Eliza to be an excellent main character. She's quiet and anxious and prefers living in her own bubble and it was refreshing to see a main character in a young adult book who doesn't have it all worked out. Eliza struggles. She doesn't have a perfect relationship with her parents. Online life is preferable to real life for her. She writes a super successful web-comic which, although fulfilling, comes with a tonne of added pressure. I just loved her. She was SO RELATABLE!
The webcomic was an awesome aspect of the story. I didn't much care for the little excerpts from it that were inserted into the books (another similarity to Fangirl) but I loved the role Monstrous Sea played in Eliza's life. It was interesting to read about her parent's attitude about her spending so much time online, even though I feel like their obliviousness was a little exaggerated.
Wallace was also a really good character. It was nice that he was also quiet and didn't force Eliza out of her shell. They complimented each other really well and the development of their relationship is SO FLIPPIN' CUTE! They pass notes to each other all the time and ahhh I can't see what I'm typing because there's hearts over my eyes!
Here's where we get into the spoilers though. Towards the end of the book Eliza's identity is revealed to her huge online following and Wallace, who is a big fan of her comic, freaks out and makes it all about him. I understood him feeling betrayed but he carried on as if it only impacted him when it's like ??? bruh she just had her biggest secret spilled to thousands of online fans and you're making it about you like CAN YOU NOT! Also he tries to pressure her to finish the comic so he can selfishly advance his own career even though she is feeling anxious and stressed beyond anything she's felt before. Great boyfriending there Wallace you dickhead. I didn't like him very much by the end of the book in case you can't tell.
Overall this was super cute and entertaining though. It was relatable and sweet and funny and heartwarming and I really loved that the main character was anxious but still ran her webcomic and was happy.
WELL... that was fucking adorable.
This book reminded me a whole lot of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I found it relatable in a similar way and think it nailed 'internet life' and dealing with anxiety.
I found Eliza to be an excellent main character. She's quiet and anxious and prefers living in her own bubble and it was refreshing to see a main character in a young adult book who doesn't have it all worked out. Eliza struggles. She doesn't have a perfect relationship with her parents. Online life is preferable to real life for her. She writes a super successful web-comic which, although fulfilling, comes with a tonne of added pressure. I just loved her. She was SO RELATABLE!
The webcomic was an awesome aspect of the story. I didn't much care for the little excerpts from it that were inserted into the books (another similarity to Fangirl) but I loved the role Monstrous Sea played in Eliza's life. It was interesting to read about her parent's attitude about her spending so much time online, even though I feel like their obliviousness was a little exaggerated.
Wallace was also a really good character. It was nice that he was also quiet and didn't force Eliza out of her shell. They complimented each other really well and the development of their relationship is SO FLIPPIN' CUTE! They pass notes to each other all the time and ahhh I can't see what I'm typing because there's hearts over my eyes!
Here's where we get into the spoilers though. Towards the end of the book Eliza's identity is revealed to her huge online following and Wallace, who is a big fan of her comic, freaks out and makes it all about him. I understood him feeling betrayed but he carried on as if it only impacted him when it's like ??? bruh she just had her biggest secret spilled to thousands of online fans and you're making it about you like CAN YOU NOT! Also he tries to pressure her to finish the comic so he can selfishly advance his own career even though she is feeling anxious and stressed beyond anything she's felt before. Great boyfriending there Wallace you dickhead. I didn't like him very much by the end of the book in case you can't tell.
Overall this was super cute and entertaining though. It was relatable and sweet and funny and heartwarming and I really loved that the main character was anxious but still ran her webcomic and was happy.
I can see why Eliza and her Monsters is compared to Fangirl... but it is no Fangirl. First of all, I thought a lot of the book fell into the “cute but boring” category. Secondly, I just thought so much of it was so completely unbelievable that I could not suspend my disbelief. I think if I had been a teenager reading this instead of a grown woman in my thirties, I might have enjoyed it more.
Eliza’s webcomic, Monstrous Sea, was honestly too popular for it to be believable. When it is revealed to the world who she is, people flock to her like she wrote Harry Potter. Her home room teacher has a freaking tattoo of Monstrous Sea. I call fowl. No way. Webcomics are very niche. Not that many people would care. Also, it’s the premise, but really, the most popular fanfiction writer for her story goes to her school. And they tots fall in luv. Eye roll. To me, Eliza and Her Monsters perpetuates the unhealthy idea that most teens have that other people are thinking about and judging them all the time. Because for Eliza it’s true. What?
Eliza’s online friends were weird and both she and Wallace were kind of jerks in different ways. Eliza’s best friends (online) are a 14-year-old girl genius in college and a 22-year-old man. This 22-year-old man is constantly texting a 14 and 17 year old girl. Umm. Interesting choice, author. Eliza is really mean to her parents. Said parents are ridiculously accommodating doormats. “You’re going on a date! Let me run out and put you on birth control ASAP!” Or maybe, you know, get your daughter some help about her lack of human connections and extreme anxiety. That would be my priority...
Wallace acts like an entitled jerk about his transcription of Eliza’s webcomic. He demands she finish her comic so he can sell his book. It is not even about the story and his love for it. It is just about what he can monetarily gain from selling his girlfriends ideas. And she is falling all over herself to sign away the rights to her story. What the heck?
Also, if Eliza was already making enough money to pay for college doing what she loves, why would she bother going to college at all? That makes zero sense.
I think that the book did have some good messages about mental health, mainly that Eliza and Wallace both start therapy for their mental health problems by the end of the book. But to me it was rushed and felt hollow. I hated that Eliza and Wallace have a cutesy little ending. I’m sorry, those two were clearly in an unhealthy co-dependent relationship. That is scorched earth. They should have nothing to do with each other unless they are both a lot healthier. No, a few therapy sessions don’t count!
I thought I would love this, but I was not the target audience.
Eliza’s webcomic, Monstrous Sea, was honestly too popular for it to be believable. When it is revealed to the world who she is, people flock to her like she wrote Harry Potter. Her home room teacher has a freaking tattoo of Monstrous Sea. I call fowl. No way. Webcomics are very niche. Not that many people would care. Also, it’s the premise, but really, the most popular fanfiction writer for her story goes to her school. And they tots fall in luv. Eye roll. To me, Eliza and Her Monsters perpetuates the unhealthy idea that most teens have that other people are thinking about and judging them all the time. Because for Eliza it’s true. What?
Eliza’s online friends were weird and both she and Wallace were kind of jerks in different ways. Eliza’s best friends (online) are a 14-year-old girl genius in college and a 22-year-old man. This 22-year-old man is constantly texting a 14 and 17 year old girl. Umm. Interesting choice, author. Eliza is really mean to her parents. Said parents are ridiculously accommodating doormats. “You’re going on a date! Let me run out and put you on birth control ASAP!” Or maybe, you know, get your daughter some help about her lack of human connections and extreme anxiety. That would be my priority...
Wallace acts like an entitled jerk about his transcription of Eliza’s webcomic. He demands she finish her comic so he can sell his book. It is not even about the story and his love for it. It is just about what he can monetarily gain from selling his girlfriends ideas. And she is falling all over herself to sign away the rights to her story. What the heck?
Also, if Eliza was already making enough money to pay for college doing what she loves, why would she bother going to college at all? That makes zero sense.
I think that the book did have some good messages about mental health, mainly that Eliza and Wallace both start therapy for their mental health problems by the end of the book. But to me it was rushed and felt hollow. I hated that Eliza and Wallace have a cutesy little ending. I’m sorry, those two were clearly in an unhealthy co-dependent relationship. That is scorched earth. They should have nothing to do with each other unless they are both a lot healthier. No, a few therapy sessions don’t count!
I thought I would love this, but I was not the target audience.