Eliza and Her Monsters follows the story of Eliza Mirk, a high school senior who leads a double life - as a shy and invisible student in real life, and as LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea online. When Eliza meets Wallace, a new student who happens to be a fan of her webcomic, her carefully separated worlds collide, leading to a journey of self-discovery, first love, and the challenges of balancing creativity with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. The book explores themes of fandom, creativity, relationships, identity, and the struggles of navigating teenage life in the digital age.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include mental health issues, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and general themes of emotional struggle.
Has Romance?
The romance in Eliza and Her Monsters is medium, developing through friendship and shared interests but also fraught with challenges.
From The Publisher:
"A love letter to fandom, friendship, and the stories that shape us, Eliza and Her Monsters is absolutely magical."-Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times-bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends
Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she's worked for begins to crumble.
Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl meets Noelle Stevenson's Nimona in this acclaimed novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. "A must-have."-School Library Journal
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.
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.
Young Adult Library Services Association Best Book
Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten
Kirkus Best Book
Texas Tayshas Pick
Ratings (9)
Incredible (2) | |
Loved It (4) | |
Liked It (3) |
Reader Stats (45):
Read It (10) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (23) | |
Not Interested (11) |
2 comment(s)
The indicator of a good book is when you can’t put it down because you have an almost physical need to know what happens to the characters. This was a good book.
Our main character, Eliza, really grows throughout this book. Her determination to stick out situations she would rather not be in is encouraging to people who also have trouble socializing sometimes.
I’m so glad that I bought this book, although if I hadn’t I would after reading it. I look forward to more books from this author!
Wow. Just wow.
This started off slow. It was depressing at the start and I didn't really enjoy it much and then out of nowhere it just took off. I came to really love Eliza. I felt so much reading this book. It was very intense. More so than I imagined it was going to be. I thought it was going to be lighthearted - fandoms, artists, writers, weird loners, touch of awkward romance and it was just so much more.
This book tackles mental illness head on and refuses to flinch no matter how much pain and agony is poured into the narrative. Eliza had me crying with the intensity of her feelings. And so many of them are utterly relatable. The trouble she has forcing herself out, forcing herself not to hide. The anxiety about letting people down. I felt so much.
Eliza is brave in confronting her fears and trying to move past her worries. I liked her relationship with her brothers best - they were really understanding of her - even if they didn't quite get it. I loved the acceptance Eliza gives Wallace when he can't speak, I love that she's more comfortable communicating via text or paper. I love that they both were willing to accept that - to understand that it was hard for them but didn't mean they shouldn't communicate. The romance between them was pretty swoony but I also loved that they really connected with one another.
I really liked the format of this book too. The inclusion of the chat logs and artwork and excerpts of the story was perfect. Well written relatable story. 4.5 stars.
What can you read after
Eliza and Her Monsters?
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