In an age where our online selves are often just as real—if not more so—than our offline ones, Francesca Zappia’s Eliza and Her Monsters hits like a gentle gut punch. On the surface, it’s a YA novel about fandom, webcomics, and internet fame. But underneath its beautiful, panel-drawn pages lies a raw, aching exploration of anxiety, creativity, and the terrifying vulnerability of being truly seen.

Enter Wallace Warland. He’s the new kid, a transfer student and the author of the most popular Monstrous Sea fanfiction. He is also, crucially, a fan.

What makes Eliza and Her Monsters so profound isn’t just the anxiety rep—though that is painfully accurate. It’s the way Zappia writes about the act of creating.

Offline, Eliza is a ghost. She barely speaks at school, eats lunch in a dark classroom, and navigates the hallways with her head down, counting steps to stave off panic attacks. Her parents worry. Her teachers are frustrated. Her real life is a series of grey, claustrophobic hallways.