Was loving it until the love interest starts acting like a horrible person. ( )

I gave this book 4.5 I really enjoy this book. I had to grow and like Eliza character but that was kind of the point overall. I love how the story was told through writing, drawing, comics and web chats. It made the book seem like i was really in eliza head. She was a hard character to like at the start but at the end i really liked her. I did love wallace as well. It became a super fast pace novel and i hope to read more by this author in the future ( )

I gave this book 4.5 I really enjoy this book. I had to grow and like Eliza character but that was kind of the point overall. I love how the story was told through writing, drawing, comics and web chats. It made the book seem like i was really in eliza head. She was a hard character to like at the start but at the end i really liked her. I did love wallace as well. It became a super fast pace novel and i hope to read more by this author in the future ( )

I finished reading Eliza and her Monsters around 3 and a half months ago or so but never got around to writing the review. So at this point it isn't as fresh in my mind but I decided to go ahead and write a review now before I really forget a lot of it (which is so sad to me that this happens). I read this book in a buddy read with my friend Kat and we had a lot of fun with it! This was both of ours first buddy read and I am glad we chose this book.

One of my favorite parts about this book was how well the author related the experience of anxiety. On this note, I also really liked how the book ended though I won't spoil it ;). The medium of the book was also very interesting, being done in prose, drawings, and chat messages. This seemed a very important element since a big part of the story has to do with how integrated into online life Eliza is. I also loved this because it mixes the kind of art that both Eliza and the boy she meets, Wallace, like to create. Furthermore, the drawings and blurbs from the web comic Eliza is writing make it so, so much more realistic and make me really intrigued in her comic and how she is able to express herself within it in ways she doesn't feel like she can in the offline world.

Another topic that I feel like becomes important in this story is the ever evolving relationship between humans and technology. To what extent does our technology connect us and to what extent does it also disconnect us? That is a question that becomes ever more relevant. I feel like this book kind of pulls for both sides, and calls for a balance between the two-- just as Eliza must learn to balance the two sides of her life.

I enjoyed Eliza and Wallace's relationship and think they are really able to bring each other out of their comfort zones and more capable of interacting with other people and growing themselves. I did think Wallace really overreacted at one point in the book and it really annoyed me and didn't make a lot of since with the extent to which he took it, but in the end I was able to reconcile with his character.

Eliza and her Monsters is a book that is extremely pertinent to our current times. It looks at how technology effects our relationships and our comfort zones. It looks at how much the internet can help in getting artist's work out there. It looks into the idea of anonymity over such a medium where you can be anyone. It looks at how to learn to be yourself. It looks at anxiety and mental issues that are not often discussed. And the topics of webcomics and fan fiction are also not written about all that much, and so this makes the book that much more unique. I look forward to reading other works from this author. ( )

After seeing how many people loved this, I found myself a little letdown.

First off, I loved the mental illness aspect of this book. It was great, the author showed off severe social anxiety. She also portrayed an actual panic attack correctly, but... The notes. I understand why Wallace was mute. I get that. But, writing a note when he is upset? Like come on, why couldn't he just talk aloud. I personally found myself cringing with each note passed. It was one thing when I thought he could not speak, but once I realized he has the capability to form words and sentences aloud, I just got annoyed.

Also, the relationship between Wallace and Eliza is so awkward. Like not in a cute high school crush way, but in a 'why am I reading this' way. I actually asked myself that question at least ten times while reading this book.

As for Monsterous Sea, I had zero interest. I didn't care anything about the actual content. It was cool that a high schooler creating that story, but the story itself, boring!

Children of Hypnos was much more interesting. Unfortunately, it was barely mentioned in the novel.

For the most part, I liked how this wrapped up, but the relationship between Eliza and Wallace (and just about everyone) was weird. ( )