Tw: suicide, suicide ideation

THIS BOOK WAS ADORABLE.

Seriously. I can’t even right now. It was cute and relatable and everything was amazing.

Eliza is me. I am Eliza. She doesn’t like people. She likes the internet. I don’t like people. I like the internet. Swap her sketchbook for a book and we could be the same person. She’s just a year older, and probably taller. 🤣

That aside, I really liked the characters. Though I don’t have anxiety, I was able to relate to Eliza in many other ways, and she’s definitely one of my favorite contemporary leads.

I wasn’t a fan of her family, though. Sully and Church were a bit better in the end, but for the most part I found her parents overbearing and her brothers obnoxious. None of them tried to understand until the end, after her parents messed everything up. Maybe that’s harsh, but I just didn’t really like them. However, this didn’t bother me enough to lower my rating.

I loved Wallace. So much. He looks like a football player, but he’s a complete soft boy. He does like football, but he’s also quiet and loves to write. He was so sweet and genuine and honestly my favorite. I felt so bad for him when I read his email to Eliza, but everything after that made me love him more. I’m glad he came around in the end.

As for Eliza and Wallace together... well, if it even needs to be said, I loved them. They were adorable and awkward and legitimately the perfect couple. When they were hurting, I was too. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I can’t express how glad I am that they made up. 😍

One thing I especially liked about this book was how modern it was. It focused majorly on the internet, and online friendships and communities; it was one of the reasons it was such a relatable read. I haven’t been on a forum in years, but the general community feel and the passion resonated with me nonetheless.

Also, I didn’t know it was possible for me to fall in love with a story that exists only within another story? There wasn’t *that* much of Monstrous Sea included in this book, but I loved it all the same. I loved the characters, even though the book was about the people they brought together rather than their actual story. I loved scenes where Eliza made new pages. If there was a spin-off about Monstrous Sea, I’d read it.

All in all, I loved everything about this book, and I’ll definitely buy my own copy in the future. 😊

Recommended for fans of Fangirl and P.S. I Like You!