Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

There is a small monster in my brain that controls my doubt. If you're looking for a geeky fandom book that is lighter and fluffier, I recommend Queens of Geek. the story of Eliza's anxiety, relationships with those around her, and even suicidal thoughts, gives the novel a more serious and emotional edge. While there is lots of geeky fandom, fanfiction, fanart, cosplay. It's a much darker book than I was first expecting. Eliza's most valued friendships are online and, of course, her well-meaning parents fail to understand or consider them 'real'. Eliza and Her Monsters did just that.įrom my perspective, it's a very realistic portrayal of anxiety, and of someone who escapes into Internet forums. A book that puts into words feelings you've always had but have struggled to voice. It's always so wonderful to find a book that 'gets' you. It’s stupid because that’s what I like about the internet-that it gives you time to think about what you want to say before you say it. And they were better friends than any I'd had in 'real life' at that point. I was making friends from all over the world. What they didn't get - and what Eliza's parents don't get in this book - is that I wasn't alone. I spent hours every night on my computer, until my parents got frustrated that I spent so much time alone and not in the 'real world'. I was invisible, free, and not alone in the way I was often alone in the real world. The Internet provided a place for me to explore the world, find others like me, whilst also providing a barrier. And the way I coped? To put it simply - The Internet. From my very first school years when I almost always played alone, to later bullying because I was that 'weird' and socially clueless class member who didn't get how to behave. It's been part of who I am my whole life. Over the years, I've come to handle it better to talk myself down from the panic. I literally used to drink alcohol before the mandatory presentations in college (not showing up only worked for so long), and I still feel panic rising inside me whenever I have to make a phone call to someone I don't know well. I get worked up about sending emails, angsting over it when replies don't come straight away ( oh god, did I say something wrong?). Some of you know this, but others don't- I have long suffered with anxiety, particularly social anxiety. Well, except for the part where she's a talented webcomic artist and I'm not, but shhh. I'm not going to lie to you - a huge part of my love for this book is because I related so much to Eliza. I liked this even more than Zappia's Made You Up.

But when I did, it completely blew me away.

The only reason it's not 5 is that it took a little while for me to get into it. She drew so many monsters that she became a monster herself.Ĥ 1/2 stars.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia