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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
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.
This was absolutely heartfelt.
Brimming with emotions, exactly what I prefer. It wasn't hard at all for me to connect with Eliza because she is an artist, so am I, she's an introvert, so am I, she's mentally ill, so am I. This book was, for me, heavy on the grief and depression but I didn't mind that because it's important to read and write books like this. I almost criedseveral times which is surprising considering I have been disliking every book I was reading this year. I just loved this book so much and hope others do too.
4.5 stars!
Brimming with emotions, exactly what I prefer. It wasn't hard at all for me to connect with Eliza because she is an artist, so am I, she's an introvert, so am I, she's mentally ill, so am I. This book was, for me, heavy on the grief and depression but I didn't mind that because it's important to read and write books like this. I almost cried
4.5 stars!
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
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.
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
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Grief
emotional
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
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