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Eliza and Her Monsters: A (Spoiler) Review

Updated: Jul 22, 2020

I read Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia at the beginning of April. This book was introduced to me by one of my favorite BookTubers, Merphy Napier. It was a book I didn't know that I needed, and a book I quickly fell in love with.


Synopsis (from Amazon):

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, 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.


Caution: Mild, tiny spoilers ahead.


More than a synopsis:

So yes, Eliza writes this webcomic that is super popular. Nobody knows it's her who writes (and draws) these characters, except for her parents and her brothers. And they just don't understand the impact it has on people and how many people love it and read it. They don't know the magnitude of it all and how much money she makes off of it. They don't understand the passion she has for these characters and the friends she's made through them. They don't understand why she can't make "real" friends and have a "normal" life.


(Going back to the art in this book: It is amazing! So well done, so well placed in the book. Everything flows, and all of the drawings are gorgeous! I love this added detail.)


She meets Wallace, who is Monstrous Sea's biggest fan. He writes fan fiction for it, and eventually lets Eliza read some of it. But the way these two meet is just ... I have no words. It's expertly done and so, so believable. I love how both of the characters are so awkward together but still seem to just ... fit. Wallace has this fear of public speaking, and can only really talk in small groups to his closest friends. He will only write down what he wants to say, so all throughout the book, he and Eliza are passing notes back and forth to each other. It has such a nostalgic feel from when I was in high school and made me smile every time.


Eliza has severe anxiety and her entire life is the comic ... until it's not. Until she's found out by the entire school ... including Wallace. The depression she spirals through for the next several weeks, months, (who knows?) is very, very relatable and heart-wrenching. The way that she and Wallace navigate through everything is very touching, and I loved every second of their strange and very loving relationship.


The way that everyone comes together in the end and pulls through for one another is truly, truly amazing.


My thoughts:

Five stars. Seriously. Five. It deserves all of them. Ten, if possible. Like I stated above, I quickly fell, hard, for this book and for these characters. This book came at a time when I needed it the most, I just didn't know it yet. I need more of these awkward, goofy, raw characters. I related to Eliza's social awkwardness so, so much, and I loved every second of this book. I've never laughed so hard for so many pages, and then cried until I had to take off my glasses to wipe my eyes because of a book before. If you haven't read this yet, and you suffer from anxiety in any way, please do yourself a favor, and READ THIS BOOK.


Favorite quotes and final thoughts: "My parents have decided that in exchange, this will be the most Mirk Thanksgiving that ever Mirked."

"[Monstrous Sea] is about feeling like you're in the wrong place, and fighting forces you can't stop, and how there are monsters out in the world, but usually the worst monsters live inside us."


I also wanted to touch on the Harry Potter joke in the beginning of the book when talking about a Halloween costume contest: "Oh, come on! The Harry Potter people always win! They've had like twelve years to put their costumes together!" And then... "I've done my waiting! Twelve years of it! In Azkaban!"

...and my nerdy little heart was so happy.

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