Eliza And Her Monsters Read Online

[Kayla Munl]

Ahuge theme in ELIZA AND HER MONSTERS is Eliza finding space where she could be her authentic self, because she felt she could not do so at home or at school. First, she found this as LadyConstellation, spending years cultivating both a fictional world and an online community. Monstrous Sea helped her feel accomplished, unique, hard working, and proud of herself in the the time and brainpower it took to dream of and pen the characters and world. At the same time, she felt admired by and close to people she interacted with online for years.

Second, she found a safe space in her relationship with Wallace, which was a new experience because while she appreciated her family and was somewhat close to them, she had never felt like she could completely be herself in their presence. We see her slowly and cautiously open up to Wallace. I found this particularly nuanced because they used online messaging, a medium in which she felt comfortable communicating, so she was able to establish their relationship there. Wallace was also most comfortable communicating online because he writes Monstrous Sea fanfiction. They empathized with each other because of their mental health experiences, which is something Eliza had not experienced before. It simultaneously scared and excited her because she felt listened to but also more vulnerable.

Eliza experiences a panic attack when her identity as LadyConstellation is revealed. This plot point was a huge turning point and I could feel the urgency and franticness in the narration as she feels the safety of her online world slip away from her. Part of her thought process stemmed from the fact that she already felt anxious about becoming more vulnerable in her relationship with Wallace and becoming close to someone she knew face to face, and that she was keeping her identity from him. It was as if she lost part of her identity and felt like she was spiraling with nowhere to land, as all of her safe spaces had been infiltrated. Some creators find it difficult to balance how much to reveal about their virtual presence to people they know face to face, as it can have ramifications on jobs and relationships. This struggle with balance was magnified here, and one outcome was illustrated well. I am also glad that Francesca Zappia did not end the story immediately after this reveal, as it was good for me and other readers to see the aftermath and any resolution.

While I have mostly talked about Wallace in a positive light, I did not agree with all of his actions, especially towards the end of the book. Eliza also had a complicated relationship with her parents, and, again, while I did not agree with everything they did, it was helpful to see that relationships can have many facets and different degrees of closeness can be fostered.

Premise in a sentence: Eliza Mirk is the anonymous author and illustrator of the famous webcomic Monstrous Sea, and after she becomes close to a Monstrous Sea fanfiction writer, her identity is accidentally revealed and she has to grapple with the aftermath.

Eliza Mirk, a high school senior, is the anonymous creator of popular webcomic Monsterous Sea. With only her online friends, Max and Emmy knowing her true identity, Eliza has been creating the comic for three years under the guise of LadyConstellation. Spending all of her time online with no desire to make friends in the real world, Eliza is shy, weird and friendless.

This all changes when Wallace Warland transfers to Westcliff High. Also shy and friendless, Wallace only speaks out loud sometimes. After confronting two football players who are pestering Wallace about the stories he is writing, Eliza finds out that Wallace is a Monsterous Sea fan and he believes she is one too after seeing her sketchbook. At this point, she does not want to tell Wallace that she is actually the creator of the comic.

For the most part, this book and its characters are seemingly happy. Friendless Eliza finds a companion and possible romantic interest in Monsterous Sea fan Wallace and even finds that she does not need to online all the time. Eliza and Her Monsters showcases how wonderful it can be to be a part of a fandom and celebrates just what that means to people.

I am a sucker for romance and although there was not much in this book this was actually a good thing. YA novels are so often packed full of cliche romance, with boyfriends who do the most outlandish things for the girl they like, all whilst being in high school. This does not always sit well with me. Teen love is something that is supposed to be a little awkward and at times confusing, a reason why the relationship between Eliza and Wallace works really well. They bring out the best in each other whilst still acting like awkward teens who are falling in love for the first time.

The best part of this book for me was the accurate representation of mental health. Wallace has PTSD and selective mutism, something of which is not clearly stated but is presented to the reader so well that it does not need to be. Mental health is something that should be explored, especially in YA and I applaud Francesca Zappia for doing in a way that is not harmful and shows fair representation.

It has been a very, very long time since a book has had this much of an impact on me. Most of Eliza And Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia was such a light and fun read! But there was also a very serious and raw emotional edge that made me totally fall in love with this book.

If you have not read this book, I urge you NOT to continue on with this review OR read the goodreads synopsis OF the inside book flap. It all gives too much away! This is really a book that you need to go into totally blind so you can get the absolute most out of it!

The pacing of the book was perfect. I was hooked from the very first paragraph and could not stop thinking about the book when I had to put it down. This is a book that could very easily be read in one sitting because it is so captivating.

The writing style is very easy to read and I loved the way it was organized as a story that flows from point a to point b, but has short blurbs of IM chats, emails, letters, and bits of the online comic mixed in. This really gave the book more depth, and again, made it so realistic.

On that note, I really enjoyed the online aspects that this book covered. Not simply with the online comic, but with fandoms and friendships. It was all so well done, especially the parents not understanding the appeal.

Reading about Sully as he took the lead in informing their parents how badly they messed up and how Church chimed in with perfect timing was incredible. I was SO proud of them. But the moment that made me tear up and cheer was when Sully told Eliza that if she needed to talk, he was there. And then instead of leaving, he walked in and sat down next to her to just be there! Oh, my heart! That was such a powerful scene to me.

Both Eliza and Cath (the main protagonist of Fangirl), share their creative works online and find themselves more popular and more comfortable in the realm of the Internet than in their regular, everyday lives, which is something that not only do I find relatable, but I think a lot of people out there can. Many of us find ourselves living behind a screen, especially when we do share something online, be it our stories, our photos, or even just a carefully curated version of our real lives. Finding it easier to relate to people online is another aspect of the online life that I think many of us can relate to, and Zappia takes advantage of several opportunities to let her main character express this perfectly several times throughout the book.

Overall, I really, really have to commend Zappia for creating such an identifiable character, in whom so many of her readers can likely find at least a fraction of themselves, if not their whole hearts.

It has been awhile since a book has so deeply understood a piece of the world that I love so much: fandom. ELIZA AND HER MONSTERS is a wonderful story about a girl who is the anonymous creator of an insanely popular webcomic, Monstrous Sea. She is perfectly content spending her time creating new pages for the webcomic, talking to her online BFFs Max and Emmy, and interacting with the fans in the forums on Friday nights. She is extremely introverted, preferring her online community to the one physically around her. Everything changes when one of the biggest fans, and most popular fan fiction writers, of Monstrous Sea transfers to her high school. Eliza begins to toy with the idea that the offline world might be worth her time, too.

The story explores what it means to live half in one world, and half in another. The dichotomy of being active online, with friends in different time zones and countries, and spending the days alone at school is one that I think a lot of teens experience, and it is very well portrayed in this book. It is an experience that is so common, yet so unique to this generation, and I think that the family dynamics surrounding this experience were also done really well.

Eliza and Her Monsters is a pretty personal story for me. I wrote it in the hopes that it could help other very introverted and anxious creative types and those who feel the keen double edge of fandom and life online.

Harry Potter was probably the first fandom I really was a part of, and really interacted with. I read the books in middle school, and fell in love. I reblogged fan art on tumblr, read fics, spent hours on mugglenet.com, and waited all day outside the theaters for the midnight screenings. I even helped start the Harry Potter club in high school. It will always have a special place in my heart. Here is some of my favorite fan art:

My name is Gabi and there is nothing I love more than stories and community. I am a library professional at the Pierce County Library System and am working on my MLIS from the UW iSchool (estimated grad 2022). My specialty is queer literature, youth literature, and graphica for youth and adults. Let me help you find your next favorite book!

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