Eliza and Her Monsters

by Francesca Zappia

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of Monstrous Sea, a wildly popular webcomic, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she's worked for begins to crumble. Scott Westerfeld's Afterworlds meets Nimona in this novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. Features illustrations by the author throughout. Perfect for readers of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, this is the second novel by the acclaimed author of Made You Up. In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, smart, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza's persona is popular. Eliza can't imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community. Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school, and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza's secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she's built-her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity-begins to fall apart.
With pages from Eliza's webcomic, as well as screenshots from Eliza's online forums, this uniquely formatted book will appeal to fans of Noelle Stevenson's Nimona and Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl.

• ISBN10: 0062290134
• ISBN13: 9780062290137
• Publish Date: 13 July 2017 (first published 30 May 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 13 March 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Greenwillow Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leigha]

A young woman struggles between her artistic talent and her mental health in this well-written young adult contemporary romance.

Creative and profound, Eliza and Her Monsters is a quick, mesmerizing read. Eliza, the main character, is a talented artist dealing with anxiety and depression. She discovers a way to self medicate – with an online alter ego and web comic – until her identity is accidentally stripped away. Personally, I highly recommend reading this book in print. Clips of Eliza’s web comic and online life are interspersed throughout the story. I’m not sure the audio or eBook versions could do it justice.

This story does not shy away from showing the realities of mental illness, which is truly appreciated. More books need to illustrate the struggles and fears people with mental health issues deal with on a regular basis. Relationships are important to the story too. Not just the relationships you create with others, but the ones you create with yourself. While Eliza finds it challenging to open up to the other characters in the novel, it’s ultimately coming to terms with herself that is the biggest hurdle.

tl;dr A well-written novel focusing on mental illness in a creative, yet realistic, way.

[Steph L]

Read my initial thoughts about this book as I read each chapter. I loved this book so much!!!!!

[rohshey]

Ugh! Why do I even bother with YA books anymore.

[nitzan_schwarz]

I can't really decide how to write this review. I have written it and started over a few times. I just don't what I want to say, or how to word it even when I do.

This book is not without its issues. But at the end of the day, it's such a... pure creation. It overflows with genuine emotions. I have no doubt that Zappia loves Monsterous Sea as much as Eliza does. It simply pours off the page (and I, for one, would not mind if she pulled a Rainbow Rowell and wrote that series. In fact, I insist on it. Like, shut up and take my money, now)

And, I'll admit it, I cried at the end. Full on tears. It's funny how these type of stories do that to me - they make me connect with the main character, and then they make her emotions my own, and BAM I'm bawling.

That's not to say I was immediately connected to Eliza, though.

In fact, my initial reaction was kind of weird. From basically page one, I knew I loved the dialogues in this novel. They feel like conversations I've had with my friends if that makes any form of sense. From the very first chapter, I knew I was in love with Monsterous Sea with its beautiful drawings and kick-ass plot (god, I want to read it so badly). From the first time we saw a snippet of Wallace's transcription of the comic, I wanted my hand on that beautiful piece of writing. Seriously, Wallace's writing hooked me so bad. From the first moment Wallace and Eliza started to interact, I was giddy with this feeling of first love on all its anxiety and butterflies, shipping and cheering on these two puppies.

Which is why it was so, so, so, so strange that I didn't like the writing as narrated by Eliza. It took me a huge chunk of the novel--probably around 50% of it--to grow used to her style. I don't know what it was, maybe it was the contrast between Wallace's novel and her own voice, but there you have it. Obviously, I got over it, but I felt compelled to mention it.

Anyways, I think this is a book a lot of people can relate to. Anyone who is part of a fandom, really, and let's face it... You're on goodreads. Of course you're part of a fandom >D

Now, for the few things that felt iffy to me, in spoilers!


1. Eliza dragging out the Lady Constellation thing - I mean, I get it. This is your climax, you need to draw it out. But at a certain point, it began to feel inorganic. Eliza had thought so many times of sharing this fact with Wallace--of wanting to share it--that it became this thing she doesn't do just so we can have all the emotional final act.

2. Wallace's reaction - part of the reason I don't really read fanfiction is that a lot of the time, characters become people they are not, simply to fit the story the fan fiction tries to tell. This is how I felt with Wallace when he suddenly sprung that publishing deal, pressuring Eliza to continue with the comic and brushing her off when she doesn't.

This is not the Wallace to whom you introduced me throughout the entirety of this novel! This is not the Wallace Eliza fell in love with! This is not the boy who saw the darkness in his father but failed to act on it, leading to a life time of guilt and what ifs!!

Wallace would not do it, especially as he sees how bad Eliza is. Not the boy who is okay with the silence, and understands the anxiety, and the social fear, and the love to Monstrous Sea. Not the boy who loves Eliza Mirk. Without even asking how she feels! There is a difference between anger, to which he is justified, and this. And then, of course, when this rans its course and lead to THE SCENE, he reverts back to the Wallace he has always been.

Again, it felt like something that was put it inorganically to add more drama to this final act.

But those were really my only complaints. You can be certain I will check out more of Zappia's writing in the future!

[Stephanie]

This is really hard to rate, so just give it your own star amount. I loved and hated this book -- Eliza frustrated me so much, and often times came across as overwhelmingly condescending, despite the extreme social anxiety she dealt with throughout the book. At some points, she was cartoonish in her hatred of people and high school. I could relate to her in several instances with her anxiety, but she generally infuriated me.

On top of that (and here is the spoiler-y part), I cringed at Wallace guilting her into finishing the comic so that HE could get the book deal. It was gross, and felt so strangely out of character for him, especially after the email and the reveal of Eliza as LadyConstellation. And it continued, and it persisted, and nothing changed and I. JUST. UGH.

However, the writing was very good, and I was charmed by the various was of multi-media usage in this book (comic pages, IMs, forums, emails, etc.) And I DID like Eliza and Wallace's relationship, through friendship and more. Overall, I was bugged by these couple of things that were so jarring (Eliza's attitude, Wallace's pressure) which took me out of the book to much to wholly enjoy it.

I would place this maybe.. above than Fangirl, but Radio Silence is better.

[ross91]

This was so great! I love it when there's a story within the story and this fictional world made by a fictional artist is detailed and interesting and makes you wanna reat it as weel.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 stars

I loved it!



Eliza is an introvert, who leads a double life. To most, she is Eliza Mirk, the odd girl with no friends, who doesn't talk to anyone. Her clothing is chosen in order to camouflage her from the world, and to help her shrink into herself and be as invisible as possible. Underneath all that is LadyConstellation. Her online persona is the creator of one of the most popular webcomics, Monstrous Sea, which spawned a fierce and loyal fandom. Online, she has many fans, and even a few good friends. Online, she can express herself and without revealing too much. Enter Wallace Warland, one of the most popular Monstrous Sea fanfic writers in the fandom. Eliza had worked so hard to keep her online world separate from her everyday, and worries that the wall between the two may come tumbling down, destroying them both.

This book was such a joy to read, and I related to the story and Eliza on so many levels.

Eliza and teenaged me shared a lot of traits. We were both introverts with some level of anxiety disorder, who were drawn to more quiet pursuits as our egregious families looked on in horror. I did not have the internet to fill that social hole when I was a kid, but I do appreciate the outlet it provides for many people. I love that Zappia challenged the ideas regarding online friendships, and showed in multiple ways, that online friends can be real friends.

Zappia really captured the thrill of the fandom, of bonding over a common interest. I have never quite reached THAT level of obsession with any of my interests, it's just not in my personality, but I understand how a common love can bring people together. Just commenting on reviews or posting in forums with people, who love the same books as me, leaves me with a titillation that is just as strong as when I go to a con and chat up someone as I wait on a line. In this book, the shared love of Monstrous Sea is a pathway, which allowed Eliza to make a new friend and broaden her world. It actually opened up a slew of new experiences for her.

Although Zappia did paint a rather positive picture of online life, she also showed that one cannot only live a virtual life. Eliza grew a lot as a person throughout this story. She was a different person at the end, and her life was enriched by the new friendships she forged offline. Not only were new relationships formed, she also worked to strengthen and improve her existing relationships.

"Broken people don't hide from their monsters. Broken people let themselves be eaten."

Eliza was slightly broken, and she knew she was broken. I was really proud of her for all the positive steps she took to become more whole. She put a few cracks in her walls, and opened herself up to new people. She reached out to her family, and tried to show them how much she loved them. She sought professional help when necessary, and she stepped back from things she loved, when she saw they were destroying her.

"I think that's why they call it a breakthrough. It cracks you open and lets light in."

Eliza had a wonderful, but flawed family. They didn't quite understand her, or at least she didn't think they all did, but there was so much love. They tried, and they made mistakes, but they never stopped trying, and some of them surprised me. Sometimes your punk preteen brothers can be one of your biggest supporters. Zappia did such a lovely job exploring the family dynamic, and I couldn't have asked for a better family for Eliza.

And now for my favorite part of any story: the romance. This was a slow burn, and it was so sweet. My thoughts on Wallace were all heart-eyes, and then, I grew very angry with him, when he was sort of being a selfish twit, but then I forgave him and he wormed his way back into my heart. Seriously, he was the words to her pictures!!! What more can you ask for in a relationship?!

This book was fun, but had a lot of depth. It touched on some pretty hefty topics: PTSD, depression, suicide, anxiety, but it was tempered with lots of love, friendship, romance, fanfic, and lovely illustrations.

This book was near perfect for me. I loved the story, the characters, the story within the story, and it gave me many feels. I am struggling to properly express my love and affection, but believe me, there is so much of both for this book. Zappia has earned a place on my go-to author list with this book.

**I would like to thank Edelweiss and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. Quotes are from an ARC and may change upon publication.

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight When I heard that Francesca Zappia was writing another book, I was all sorts of excited. I loved Made You Up so much, and I knew I would love whatever she wrote next. And I did! Maybe not quite as much as Made You Up, but still a really solid book that I enjoyed immensely. OH, and if you haven't already, don't read the synopsis. It kind of gives stuff away.

What I Liked:

• Monstrous Sea! The webcomic itself was so very creative, and I adored the little excerpts from it. That, and the fandom in general was so fun, that how could I not love it? (And if you want more, check out the author's Tumblr for more great drawings and such!)


• Eliza was a great character. She was flawed, but she was learning. She was so relatable, too. It made total sense to me that she'd be worried about having her identity revealed, as she just wasn't a fan of the spotlight. But in making sure her secret was kept, she hurts some people along the way. She grows a lot during the book, which is always great too.


• The other characters were equally great. Her parents and brothers seemed so realistic. Her parents just wanted the best for her, even though they were sometimes making things worse instead of better. They needed to grow just as much as she did, to realize that their way of thinking about things wasn't the same as hers, and sometimes they'd need to change too. And the relationship with her brothers had very authentic ups and downs. I adored Wallace, and I definitely shipped  them together. And I liked Eliza's friends (she had met them online), that felt really authentic too. I liked that Eliza's relationships (all of them, not just the romantic one) were such a huge part of her life, and that she had to work to keep them. Again, very realistic.


• Mental health issues are well portrayed. I don't want to go to much into this, because some of the stuff happens toward the end, but I definitely liked that there were no magic cures, and positive depictions of treatment.


• Fabulous writing and pacing as I had hoped! I definitely put Francesca Zappia on my list of auto-buy authors after two incredibly solid books.

What I Didn't:

• This is more of a "me" thing than the book thing, but I am really kind of just over the whole "lie of omission" trope in general. It just frustrates me for two reasons: One, the outcome ends up being quite predictable. And two, you know it is going to end badly and just want the character to tell the damn truth already. Again, this is definitely more of a "me" problem, but maybe some of you feel the same.


• Some of the stuff seemed a wee bit too coincidental, and made me think that the likelihood of certain things happening really small. But it really only bugged me a little bit, it wasn't a huge problem overall.

Bottom Line: I definitely enjoyed this book! It was so fun to read Eliza's story, both as Eliza and LadyConstellation. Her struggles felt very authentic, as did her relationships.

[katie]

I don't really have words right now for how I feel about this book. Basically, it has just beat everything ever and is now my most favorite book ever. I'm still crying from the last part. Full review to come at http://kaitgoodwin.com/scintillatingreads