Author: Francesca Zappia
Series: Standalone
Edition: Paperback
Publication: May 30th 2017 by HarperCollins
Source: ARC provided by the Tour Host/Publisher
Pages: 400
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Synopsis:
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.
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.
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If you are a fan of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (which I didn't enjoy, oops), this book is for you. Let me start by saying ELISA AND HER MONSTERS IS WAAAAAAY BETTER AND COOLER. Monstrous Sea deserves a separate novel and I will one hundred ninety nine point nine percent buy it! This book screams nothing but amazing and I am so so glad to have been given a copy of it for review!
Eliza is so relatable especially to those introverts (and anxious lol) out there like me. Most of the time, I also prefer to just stay at home to read and journal over socialize outside with real people. Eliza is like that. Hiding her true identity behind LadyConstellation who created an online sensation comic book, her life revolves in drawing characters for Monstrous Sea. Her friends are online people and her time pretty much is devoted to her art. But it all changes when Wallace came in to the story as a transferee to her school.
I loved how the story moves along with the graphic novel. The illustrations, chats and letters in the book give so much life to it and I just can't get enough of it. The execution is how it should be: no confusion at all between the main story and the sub-story. Sub-story didn't overtake but instead lifted the main one to its glory. Major character development only happened at the latter part but in between, Zappia made sure all her characters were given sufficient voice to convey their message. It wasn't tiring to watch them all grow and the reading experience is soooo enjoyable and addictive.
What made Eliza and Her Monsters stand out in my opinion is that characters didn't suppress their feelings. They are not afraid to say they are mad or sad, hurt or loved. The way they discover and put names to their emotions and experience are things that are truly validating and speak volumes that it is okay to be different and it is okay to make mistakes. Plus, you wouldn't predict when the twist will happen. It's like riding a roller coaster, you just die in anticipation at the top waiting for the drop.
I have discovered another name to put in to my list of Auto-Buy Authors. Intense, adorable and swoony, Eliza and Her Monsters is such a precious book that needs to be devoured right away and deserves a spot on your glorious bookshelves. It is so good you CANNOT shut up about it!
Thank you Precious and HarperCollins International for the galley!
"The doubt itself is a stupid thing, without sense of feeling, blind and straining at the end of a long chain. The monster, though, is smart. It's always watching, it unchains the doubt and lets it run wild. Even when I know it's coming, I can't stop it."
"He never stops beings scared, but he doesn't let it stop him from doing what he has to do."
"What's the point of being alive if you don't do what makes you happy?"
"The things you care most about are the ones that leave the biggest holes."
"Broken people don't hide from their monsters. Broken people let themselves be eaten."
"I learned years ago that it’s okay to do this. To seek out small spaces for myself, to stop and imagine myself alone. People are too much sometimes... I take a moment of silence and think: I am here. I am okay."
i am so outdated this year that i have not known she has a new book. nice review of it, kate! i wonder how this goes with me
ReplyDeletehahah that's okay! I hope this review helped you a bit!
DeleteNever heard of it, but added it to my TBR now. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHope you'd enjoy it too!
DeleteFab review, Kate! I love Made You Up too and I'm glad you enjoyed Eliza and Her Monsters as I heard many great things about it. I'm excited to read this one soon :)
ReplyDeleteI love her writing style!
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