These days it’s fairly uncommon for me to pick up a YA book. I used to read a ton of them, but lately I’ve been gravitating more towards adult fiction, genre, or non-fiction. With the occasional graphic novel or memoir thrown in. But this has been sitting on my shelves for literally years, and someone (no idea who, sorry – so thanks if it was you) recently mentioned having read and enjoyed this, so it came back into my mind. I ended up finding the audiobook, so I could listen as well as read along, and that was exactly what I was looking for.
This is the story of Eliza, who does not fit in at her high school. She suffers through every day by hiding in the back of her classes, drawing in her sketchbook, and avoiding people en masse. But outside of school she’s a legend. She’s the author of an extremely popular web comic called Monstrous Sea, and though only two people know she’s the artist/author who created it, she has legions of fans. It has spawned fanfic, forums, and merchandise. She’s a huge success, but you’d never guess it to look at her real life.
Then one day there’s a new boy at school, Wallace. Not of particular interest to her initially, but for some reason she is drawn to him and discovers that he is a reader of Monstrous Sea. Not only that, but he’s writing a novelization of the comics, and is someone she knows from the forums where she hangs out anonymously. He’s shy, doesn’t like talking out loud, and also isn’t really interested in high school socializing. As the two misfits slowly become closer, Eliza is faced with a dilemma. When should she tell Wallace who she really is, if she should in fact tell him at all? How? What will it do to their relationship?
A lot of this book I loved. I loved the loner/loser who is secretly a big deal (this was my high school fantasy, though of course I never was). I loved her devotion to her creative outlet. I loved her online friendships. I loved her friendship with Wallace. The story was compelling, and I definitely didn’t want to stop reading once I got into it.
But it’s not perfect. There are excerpts of Monstrous Sea in the paper edition of the book… and it just didn’t do much for me. The excerpts were not consecutive, mostly seemed to have no storyline to follow, and didn’t make me care at all about it. I wish they’d either made it a really good first chunk of the comic so that you could follow it and become invested, or if they’d left it out completely and left it to the imagination of the reader. And while I liked most of the storyline between the two main characters….
<<SPOILER – SKIP TO NEXT SECTION TO AVOID>>
…I had a really hard time with how Wallace reacted to an opportunity Eliza is given. He basically gets sulky and mean about how her decision will impact him… even though she owes him absolutely nothing. It felt like such a toxic relationship to me that all the hair on my neck was standing up and every muscle in my body was screaming GET AWAY FROM HIM AS FAST AS YOU CAN as I was reading. Which somewhat put a damper on my ability to root for the two of them past that point. Because if he’s like that now… it’s probably just going to get worse. Maybe it’s my advancing age and having been in some not fantastic relationships in my time that just sounded alarm bells for me, but I do not want young girls to feel like this is what a respectful, romantic, loving relationship should look like.
<<END SPOILER>>
I would have really liked this book, in spite of not enjoying the excerpts, if it weren’t for that bit at the end. I understand why people enjoy this one. I enjoyed a lot of it. But the ending didn’t work for me, and it tainted the rest of the book for me as well. So it’s landing as just okay, not great, won’t read again, definitely won’t be giving it to any young women in the future.
Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.
In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.
Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she 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. – Goodreads
Book Title: Eliza and Her Monsters
Author: Francesca Zappia
Series: No
Edition: Audiobook/Paperback
Published By: Greenwillow Books
Released: May 30, 2017
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fandom, Identity
Pages: 385
Date Read: January 10-18, 2023
Rating: 4/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.16/5 (61,376 ratings)