The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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Eliza and Her Monsters - Francesca Zappia

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Image result for eliza and her monstersBlurb (on back of book): Her story is a phenomenon. Her life is a disaster.
In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. 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.
Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.
But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

MY OPINION: *****

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was unique and almost inspiring to people like me because I write FanFiction that I share online. I loved how this book dealt with friendships both over the Internet and "in real life."

Like Eliza said, friends are real whether you know them face-to-face or over the Internet virtually. I have a lot of friends both physically and over a computer screen that I count as people who I can talk to and really befriend. This is especially true of other teenagers my age who I don't REALLY know but who I am glad to talk to over social media platforms. Of course, I know about Internet safety and I don't share really personal items about myself other than my name.

Eliza Mirk is an "outcast" in her school. She doesn't have any friends, she's shy and quiet and lonely. However, when she's online, she's LadyConstellatin, the creator of the hugely famous webcomic Monstrous Sea that has millions of followers and has inspired FanFiction.

Eliza doesn't really care about her social life at school. She doesn't care about her school life: all she needs is her online profile and her online friends and MS and she's happy. However, when Wallace Warland, the new kid, reveals himself as the biggest MS FanFiction writer ever, she learns that physical relationships can make her just as happy as virtual ones. Wallace starts to bring her out of her shell: he thinks she's just another fan.

However, her secret is revealed to the world because of a "mistake" from her parents. Now her world is starting to fall apart.

So this book was extremely well-written. It kept me drawn in and interested through-and-through. I loved the pacing, the writing style, and the emotion from Eliza that I could feel all the way through the entire book.

Eliza was a strange character. She was very unique and I liked how she was an accurate representation of what someone might call a "social outcast." However she has created something so phenomenal and important that it's hard to believe her "real life" self.

I liked Wallace, despite the fact that his talking/writing thing was very... strange. I completely understand his reasoning, but before, when I didn't know, it was confusing to me. Wallace was very sweet and I loved how he was so determined and brave.

Okay, I have to be honest: I was leaning towards a four stars for this book because I didn't really see what everyone was hyping about. However, once I got to the ending my rating was bumped up and it was just like WOW. That ending was so powerful, so emotional...... WHAT

The turn. The almost suicide. Wallace coming to save her! Apologies. Tears. WALLACE. Hugs. Kisses. I'm a sucker for romance and this was no exception. BEAUTIFUL.

 I really loved Church. Eliza's little brothers were so adorable, despite being in... middle school, I think it was. Sully was that tough one but it was Church I really liked. He was so sweet and he was willing to be himself, despite what his brother said or what he might potentially be labeled as. He liked doing something and he was willing to go for it.

If I was Eliza, I would honestly be a lot angrier at my parents. THEY WERE SO ANNOYING AND KIND OF HORRIBLE PARENTS. Is it that hard to understand that people have friends over the Internet?? Honestly, adults need to learn that technology is taking over the world and that they're going to have to accept it or at least learn to live with it at some point.

Oh I forgot to mention. I love the MS excerpts. They were gorgeous and beautifully well-written and I wish it was real. REALLY. I WISH IT WAS REAL.

I would recommend this book to all readers who would like to experience a unique writing experience.

Main Character: Eliza
Sidekick(s): Wallace, Sully, Church, Em, Max, etc
Villain(s): The internet, real life, parent's idiocy, etc
Realistic Fiction Element: All of this could happen in real life.

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