Eliza and Her Monsters

YOU FOUND ME IN A CONSTELLATION.

I've just finished this book and I think it's one of the most powerful and beautiful YA novels around. This is my first book by Francesca Zappia and I think I'm gonna read the other one -Made You Up- asap. Eliza and Wallace are the perfect pair. They both seems weird because of their attitude but they're not. Or maybe they're weird but in a beautiful way. I loved the drawings and the fact that we can see and feel

Monstrous Sea. I want to read this comic. I need something like this in my life.

Go read

Eliza and Her Monsters RIGHT NOW!♥️

Full review to come 😊

I have complicated feelings about this book. The story of a teen girl who hides in her creative endeavors and how she freaks when hiding is no longer an option is compelling. But there are two big things that stopped me rating it higher. One is how much it turns on people not having a conversation they really should have, and how long I had to spend in that dread of what's going to happen when it all comes out because it's obviously going to, was hard for me. And the other is that I don't really buy the idea of a teenager with a webcomic with literally over a million readers who can fund her own college tuition because of it. I just know a lot of indie creators who struggle to make any kind of mark, even with really good work. And there were other things that similarly didn't track with reality for me, like a hand-crafted website that handles that kind of traffic, and the illustrations in the book that are supposed to be from this hit comic just didn't seem that awesome.

So: not sorry I read it, and it made me think, but those things bugged me. Your mileage may vary.

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.