Eliza and Her Monsters: An Emotionally Captivating YA novel | By Ashley Tan Jeyin
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| Source: Goodreads. |
Eliza and Her Monsters, published in 2017, is a standalone young adult novel that perfectly embodies the struggles teenagers face. From feelings of social anxiety, being treated like an outcast to the hours we spend on the internet to escape reality, this book feels like a warm hug.
It tells the story of Eliza Mirk, an awkward, shy high school student, who’s counting down the days until graduation. Friendless and invisible to her peers, she’s a nobody. But online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.
That is until Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. After catching sight of one of Eliza’s drawings, he assumes she is a fan like him and they strike up a friendship. With Wallace, Eliza comes out of her shell and she realizes the real world isn’t all too bad.
Just when Eliza’s life is at its peak, her world comes crashing down when her online identity is exposed. Everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.
You may think you’ve heard this trope before: the secret that upturns the main character’s life. It is the backbone of many superhero stories and other teen contemporary books such as Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. However, the reason I think this book is special is because of how relatable it is. Not the part about writing a world-famous webcomic, but the parts about trying to fit in, making friends, being in a relationship for the first time and the family dynamics.
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| Illustration of Monstrous Sea from Eliza and Her Monsters. Source: madisonlibrary.files.wordpress.com |
Besides this, there are nice illustrations and snippets of the webcomic Eliza writes, adding to the book’s unique flair. While there is lots of geeky fandom, fanfiction and cosplay, the story of Eliza's anxiety, relationships with those around her, and even suicidal thoughts, gives the novel a more serious and emotional edge.
Other side characters are just as well developed as Eliza, especially Wallace—a former jock turned fanfiction writer who barely talks in public. Instead, he communicates with Eliza in school by handwritten notes. Like Eliza, he is not understood by his parents and they forbid him from majoring in creative writing in university. Beneath his quiet facade, he is secretly hurting inside as he harbours feelings of guilt from something that happened a long time ago.
Eliza’s friendships with online friends Max, a twenty-two year old and Emmy, a fourteen year old engineering prodigy in college is interesting as readers see them support each other through each of their hardships. We learn that online relationships can be just as meaningful as those with the people in front of you and why Eliza feels much more comfortable communicating with others on the internet.
The book also addresses the issue of the relationship between an artist and a fan, which is not often talked about. As Eliza’s online fame grew, she felt more compelled to give fans what they expected of her, rather than what she wanted. It brings up the question of whether artists owe their fans for their success. If so, how does one live up to so many expectations?
Would I recommend it?
As you can probably guess, I would highly recommend this book. If you are looking for a quick read to pull you out of a reading slump or to have a good cry over fictional characters (like I did), this book will not disappoint. It has many layers that make Eliza and Her Monsters at once funny, dark, creative and tender. Finally, remember that:
“Like life, what gives a story its meaning is the fact that it ends. Our stories have lives of their own—and it's up to us to make them mean something.”
- Francesca Zappia, Eliza and Her Monsters
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