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spinitch127 's review for:
Eliza and Her Monsters
by Francesca Zappia
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.