Eliza and Her Monsters

Eliza and Her Monsters is part geeky, part adorable and one hundred percent addictive. In the vein of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Eliza Mirk has an online alter ego where she is known as LadyConstellation, the creator of one of the most popular webcomics called Monstrous Sea. Just like Cath, Eliza pours her heart into what she is passionate about. Eliza feels more comfortable talking to her online friends since in real life people think she is weird.A new guy named Wallace moves to town during senior year and it's fate that he is also a huge Monstrous Sea fan. Eliza debates whether to let him know that she is the creator of the webcomic but decides to ride it out that she is just a huge fan of the series and likes to create fan art.One day Eliza's world starts crashing down when her identity of the creator of Monstrous Sea gets revealed. Eliza starts to have panic attacks and her anxiety increases. She even starts seeing a therapist. Francesca Zappia even touches upon grief through Wallace and what happened to his biological father. Warning, there are slight mentions of suicide and possible depression for those who are sensitive to those topics.Francesca Zappia delves into two different types of families. The structure of each family shapes Eliza and Wallace differently. We have Eliza's family with a mom, dad, two brothers and her dog. On the other hand, we have Wallace's family where he lives with two step parents, a half sister and a step sister. It's good for readers to know that there are different varieties of families out there and there is no such thing as the perfect family. Everyone has their share of joy and distress.Throughout the novel, Zappia includes illustrations from Eliza's webcomics which acts as a visual aid to show readers what Eliza is currently working on. Zappia also includes some of the conversation she has through an online forum. They add a more personal touch to the novel.The interaction between Eliza and Wallace is perfect. There is no instalove and their friendship grows before their love blooms. Zappia breaks down stereotypes. Wallace who enjoys football can also love writing and reading webcomics. Even one of Eliza's brothers likes theatre and choir despite the love for sports and video games. Zappia reminds readers that we cannot judge people by their looks. There is more than meets the eye. We just need to scratch under the surface a bit to see it.Readers who love fan fiction and fan art alike will devour this book! This book is made for people who like to geek out at home on forums and find themselves chatting with people online. There is no question that Eliza and Her Monsters is another favorite novel of mine. With its quirkiness, honesty and sense of nostalgia, I can relate to Eliza and all the people who live on that Monstrous Sea forum.Eliza and Her Monsters is a novel to celebrate fandom. No matter what fandom you belong to, go out there and create something meaningful. I am sure someone will find your creation to be extraordinary and you will make at least one new friend. Fandom brings people together no matter what kind of lives they are living. Fandom is where people feel like themselves despite the tough things they have to accept in their lives.

I have no words for how much I adored this book! I finished it last night and have the second most intense book hangover of my life. (Only Deathly Hallows surpassed this book). I finished the book and immediately purchased her other book. This morning I found out that two of the works referenced in Eliza are available on Wattpad!! Monstrous Sea is just a teaser, but with enough hype and excitement behind it, it could become a full-fledged book. Children of Hypnos is on there, too!!! I'm dying over this news, and can't wait to sink my teeth into it. Eliza hits SO many high notes for me - it includes fanfiction and an uber-cute relationship between Eliza and Wallace. It includes mental health and a struggle with anxiety. And I love, love, LOVE that the ending took work (I'm trying desperately not to give out any spoilers), and you'll know what I mean once you read it! The longer I sit and think about this book, the more I just want to snuggle with it forever. And like protect it? Maybe? Eliza + Wallace are OTP. I love the shout-out to fanfiction, and that it's the girl who writes the hugely popular comic and the guy who writes fanfiction. Be still my heart, amirite? There is SO much to love about this book, and I lost count of the number of hearts I drew in the margins, and the number of times I underlined phrases, and how many times I gasped happily, and the number of times I cried over relating to this book so hard. I flat out adore this book.There be spoilers below (take caution and STOP reading if you don't want them):I love the way Eliza and Wallace communicate through writing, even though that turns out to be somewhat unhealthy.I love the description of Eliza's anxiety. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I felt like this portrayal was really true-to-life.I love the interaction between Wallace and Eliza near the end, after her secret comes out. And his anger with her in the beginning, and the fact that it really wasn't an easy fix.I love Eliza and her parents' reactions. It's SO real. I think they all messed up. Eliza could have tried harder to incorporate others into her online world, but it's hard to want to do that if you don't think other people value what you do. Eliza didn't think her parents took her seriously, so she withdrew into herself, which caused them even more trouble understanding, and the cycle just continued until the whole thing came apart.I loved the therapy scenes - I hope Zappia tells us more about how therapy went for Wallace.I loved Eliza's final scene at the turn in the road. And her debate about ending her life. It was so raw. And Wallace's reaction when he figures it out.I love that Eliza just wanted to get out of her house and go to college, but then the way she ended up saving herself was staying at home and taking a year off. And that her parents supported that!!I love that Eliza's brother stood up for her and understood her in a way that she didn't expect and that totally moved her.I love Eliza's complex emotions for her creation at the end, that she wants to finish, but she's terrified to finish and put the work out there.I love that what gets her moving again is her letter to Olivia Kane. And that even though she didn't expect a response, that began to help her move forward. The stories we love really do help us.