Elizabeth Fama
Author of Monstrous Beauty
About the Author
Image credit: Sara Crowe, Literary Agent
Works by Elizabeth Fama
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1963-03-30
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Chicago, Illinois, USA (BA|Biology)
University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (MBA|Economics)
University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (PhD|Economics) - Relationships
- Cochrane, John H. (Husband)
Cochrane, Sally (child)
Cochrane, Eric W. (child)
Cochrane, Jean (child)
Fama, Lake (child)
Fama, Eugene (father) - Short biography
- Elizabeth Fama is the author of three young-adult novels: Plus One (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014), a Nerdy Award winner and "Best Book" by Bank Street College Center for Children's Literature; Monstrous Beauty (FSG, 2012), a 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults book, and winner of the 2013 Odyssey Honor Award; and Overboard (Cricket Books, 2002), an ALA 2003 Best Book for Young Adults, a society of Midland Authors Honor Award winner, and a nominee for five state readers' choice awards.
Elizabeth is vastly overeducated, with a BA in Biology, an MBA, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago. She enjoys running obsessively while downloading audiobooks into her brain, swimming, tennis, and cooking Sunday Dinners for her extended Italian-American family. She and her husband raised four creative children in Chicago before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Elizabeth pretends that she's living in Tuscany while she works on an adult manuscript set in sixteenth-century Florence. - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Brussels, Belgium
San Francisco, California, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
"In my nineteenth year I tasted the nectar of truly living, and I might have leapt over the chasm of the ordinary into the ravishment of an ecstatic extraordinary, but I turned away from it."
Beautiful, melancholy, and well-written short story about cowardice, the sea, and a love that could never be. Read it here. I just discovered Tor short stories, and they've been quite good. Also, I often read to music in the background, and I read this to the song Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea show more by XYLĂ, which was AMAZING! Really added some atmosphere to the story. show less
Beautiful, melancholy, and well-written short story about cowardice, the sea, and a love that could never be. Read it here. I just discovered Tor short stories, and they've been quite good. Also, I often read to music in the background, and I read this to the song Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea show more by XYLĂ, which was AMAZING! Really added some atmosphere to the story. show less
Elizabeth Fama sets her novel, PLUS ONE, in a segregated world where half of the population lives and works in the daytime hours, and the other half is assigned to do the same in the nighttime. Sol, the feisty heroine, is a night dweller--or Smudge--and she is about to lose everything she loves with the death of her grandfather/caretaker. Being too daring for her own good as well as having a heart too loving for safety, Sol decides to kidnap her estranged brother's child to give their show more grandfather the gift of holding his great-grandchild before he dies. What follows is a smart, fast-paced, well-researched, young adult thriller. With it's alternate history and dystopian setting, PLUS ONE is everything I had hoped DIVERGENT would be. I look forward to what must be additional titles in the series, because when the book ended, I wasn't ready to let Sol's story go. show less
Find this review and others like it at The Literary Phoenix.
This book had me hooked from the beginning.
When I went into Monstrous Beauty, my opinions on it were 100% "Ugh. A mermaid book? I probably won't like this one, either. Well - here goes!" ... I WAS SO SO WRONG. This book is beautifully written, the characters are deep and interesting, and the story is just magical enough to be fantasy, but mostly it reads like a contemporary ghost story. I loved it. Monstrous Beauty exceeded my show more expectations in every way and I was so, so pleased.
Hester is my literary dopplegänger.
There are plenty of characters out there that I will read, and relate to in some way. Characters who are interesting, likable, or have similar quirks or interests. Loves, I have never related to a character as much as I related to Hester. Within the first chapter of listening, I knew that she:
- Had a little brother she mostly gets along with.
- Is inexplicably drawn to the ocean.
- Is a HUGE history buff.
- Is the QUEEN of socially awkward.
- Hates parties because they're dumb.
- Doesn't seem to really have any close female friends.
These probably aren't that remarkable, but all together? Hester and I would be friends, at the very least, because I am all these things, too.
She's not the only likable character, though! Everyone in this story is really interesting. I liked Pastor McKean a lot as well, with his kindly demeanor. I liked Hester's brother, Sam. And even Syrenka and Ezra and Adeline were great to read. Peter and Eleanor. All of them. I can't say I liked Eleanor as a PERSON, but as a CHARACTER? She's really good, really well-written.
The history fanatic in me was dying.
Dying in a good way! I am not an expert on Plymouth, Massachusetts. In fact, despite my proximity, I've never been there. But you can tell when the author has gone the extra mile to research her world. Whenever there's the slightest bit of historical fiction in a book, I am ready to destroy it. I am ready to find the lazy inaccuracies. Monstrous Beauty is really careful, really intricate, and it adds so much to the story.
I really enjoyed the scenes where Hester was at her job at Plymouth Plantation. I loved her switching between her thoughts and character, making pottage and sweeping her cottage. Also... I just plain loved the fact she had a job? And actually went to work. And had to make excuses when she wasn't there, like REAL LIFE.
A quick shout out to the narrator, here? Katherine Kellgren uses a lot of different dialects in her reading, but I think that the dialect she uses for Hester at Plymouth Plantation is amazing? I can imagine Hester in the break room practicing her accent so that she's more historically accurate. Not just because the job requires it, but because it's important to her.
THINGS THAT BOTHERED ME, AS A HISTORIAN?
This is nothing to do with the research or the history, but I need to chastise Hester. AS A HISTORIAN SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. There's a point where she takes a fragile, historical book and just... shoves it in her backpack? It's a little journal and it's over three-hundred years old. OMG WHAT ARE YOU THINKING. And even if she's being dumb and impulsive and I want to forgive her, SHE DOES IT AGAIN LATER. With another three-hundred-year-old antique.
STOP STOP STOP.
The mermaid-ness of this story is important, but not overwhelming.
I bring this up because if you're considering this book for all its undersea treasure and aquatic goodness, that's few and far between. The fact that there are merpeople is really important to this story, but at it's core? Monstrous Beauty is a ghost story.
IT'S A REALLY GOOD GHOST STORY.
There's a lot of twists and interestingness with the ghosts, so I won't go into detail (I REALLY WANT TO). I will say there was one bit near the end where I legit thought the author had just dismissed a character and was making up justifications for this in my head (I came up with reasonable ones I found acceptable!) AND THEN NO SHE DIDN'T AND STUFF HAPPENED. It was really good. I was really pleased.
I do like a good ghost story.
Overall?
I loved Monstrous Beauty, and I'm glad it's a standalone because it's a well-written concise story all together. I would definitely read another YA fantasy book by this author, especially if she continues to use this level of research and give us complicated characters. show less
This book had me hooked from the beginning.
When I went into Monstrous Beauty, my opinions on it were 100% "Ugh. A mermaid book? I probably won't like this one, either. Well - here goes!" ... I WAS SO SO WRONG. This book is beautifully written, the characters are deep and interesting, and the story is just magical enough to be fantasy, but mostly it reads like a contemporary ghost story. I loved it. Monstrous Beauty exceeded my show more expectations in every way and I was so, so pleased.
Hester is my literary dopplegänger.
There are plenty of characters out there that I will read, and relate to in some way. Characters who are interesting, likable, or have similar quirks or interests. Loves, I have never related to a character as much as I related to Hester. Within the first chapter of listening, I knew that she:
- Had a little brother she mostly gets along with.
- Is inexplicably drawn to the ocean.
- Is a HUGE history buff.
- Is the QUEEN of socially awkward.
- Hates parties because they're dumb.
- Doesn't seem to really have any close female friends.
These probably aren't that remarkable, but all together? Hester and I would be friends, at the very least, because I am all these things, too.
She's not the only likable character, though! Everyone in this story is really interesting. I liked Pastor McKean a lot as well, with his kindly demeanor. I liked Hester's brother, Sam. And even Syrenka and Ezra and Adeline were great to read. Peter and Eleanor. All of them. I can't say I liked Eleanor as a PERSON, but as a CHARACTER? She's really good, really well-written.
The history fanatic in me was dying.
Dying in a good way! I am not an expert on Plymouth, Massachusetts. In fact, despite my proximity, I've never been there. But you can tell when the author has gone the extra mile to research her world. Whenever there's the slightest bit of historical fiction in a book, I am ready to destroy it. I am ready to find the lazy inaccuracies. Monstrous Beauty is really careful, really intricate, and it adds so much to the story.
I really enjoyed the scenes where Hester was at her job at Plymouth Plantation. I loved her switching between her thoughts and character, making pottage and sweeping her cottage. Also... I just plain loved the fact she had a job? And actually went to work. And had to make excuses when she wasn't there, like REAL LIFE.
A quick shout out to the narrator, here? Katherine Kellgren uses a lot of different dialects in her reading, but I think that the dialect she uses for Hester at Plymouth Plantation is amazing? I can imagine Hester in the break room practicing her accent so that she's more historically accurate. Not just because the job requires it, but because it's important to her.
THINGS THAT BOTHERED ME, AS A HISTORIAN?
This is nothing to do with the research or the history, but I need to chastise Hester. AS A HISTORIAN SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. There's a point where she takes a fragile, historical book and just... shoves it in her backpack? It's a little journal and it's over three-hundred years old. OMG WHAT ARE YOU THINKING. And even if she's being dumb and impulsive and I want to forgive her, SHE DOES IT AGAIN LATER. With another three-hundred-year-old antique.
STOP STOP STOP.
The mermaid-ness of this story is important, but not overwhelming.
I bring this up because if you're considering this book for all its undersea treasure and aquatic goodness, that's few and far between. The fact that there are merpeople is really important to this story, but at it's core? Monstrous Beauty is a ghost story.
IT'S A REALLY GOOD GHOST STORY.
There's a lot of twists and interestingness with the ghosts, so I won't go into detail (I REALLY WANT TO). I will say there was one bit near the end where I legit thought the author had just dismissed a character and was making up justifications for this in my head (I came up with reasonable ones I found acceptable!) AND THEN NO SHE DIDN'T AND STUFF HAPPENED. It was really good. I was really pleased.
I do like a good ghost story.
Overall?
I loved Monstrous Beauty, and I'm glad it's a standalone because it's a well-written concise story all together. I would definitely read another YA fantasy book by this author, especially if she continues to use this level of research and give us complicated characters. show less
Monstrous Beauty opens by introducing the reader to the passion, alienation, and disaster of Syrenka, a mermaid to dispel any inclinations one might link to the Disney version of such creatures. In this world, mermaids have eyes "reminiscent of an octopus," razor-sharp wrist fins, and long tails covered in armored scales. They are beholden to Noo'kas, the witch-queen of the marine world, but Syrenka can't be content to put Noo'kas' jealous whims before her own needs. She falls in love with a show more young naturalist named Ezra in 1872, a relationship fraught with tragedy before they barely have a chance to be together.
In alternating chapters, we meet Hester in present day New England, a young woman who suspects the women in her lineage have a curse set upon them, dooming them to die shortly after the birth of their daughters. During this summer, she meets several mysterious characters that may provide insight on this curse and sets about on a haunting and dangerous journey to discover her connection with Syrenka.
Monstrous Beauty drew me in from the very first page, and I found it hard to put down (actually, I dropped everything I needed to do and read it in nearly a day). It is filled with such a fine balance of mystery that both allows the reader an omniscient control over the link between Syrenka and Hester and drops in new pieces of the puzzle to keep the creepiness and suspense on high straight to the end. You can tell the work that Elizabeth Fama put into researching the book--it draws so soundly upon the folklore of mermaids and the New England setting of Plymouth, MA, that it is impossible not to get caught up in the lush, atmospheric ebb and flow of coastal life. Before you can dismiss it for being "just another mermaid book," it grips you with all the gothic horror and adventure of great 19th century novels while holding its own as a modern novel. It is immediately evident that this is foremost the story of a young woman learning to take charge of her own life, fighting against the odds. Hester and Syrenka are quite different from each other and yet they share a strikingly empathetic blend of naivete and insight. Fama's characters are strong, unique, and thoroughly likeable despite all the grim and twisted events they suffer (or perpetrate). This novel makes the paranormal credible and literary again--a notion that seems to have been lost particularly in YA literature. There is a depth to it that is often absent in most other YA novels I have read, which I found invigorating, but it is characteristic better suited more for mature YA audiences and stands as excellent crossover appeal for adults. It is a bold read for adventurous readers. show less
In alternating chapters, we meet Hester in present day New England, a young woman who suspects the women in her lineage have a curse set upon them, dooming them to die shortly after the birth of their daughters. During this summer, she meets several mysterious characters that may provide insight on this curse and sets about on a haunting and dangerous journey to discover her connection with Syrenka.
Monstrous Beauty drew me in from the very first page, and I found it hard to put down (actually, I dropped everything I needed to do and read it in nearly a day). It is filled with such a fine balance of mystery that both allows the reader an omniscient control over the link between Syrenka and Hester and drops in new pieces of the puzzle to keep the creepiness and suspense on high straight to the end. You can tell the work that Elizabeth Fama put into researching the book--it draws so soundly upon the folklore of mermaids and the New England setting of Plymouth, MA, that it is impossible not to get caught up in the lush, atmospheric ebb and flow of coastal life. Before you can dismiss it for being "just another mermaid book," it grips you with all the gothic horror and adventure of great 19th century novels while holding its own as a modern novel. It is immediately evident that this is foremost the story of a young woman learning to take charge of her own life, fighting against the odds. Hester and Syrenka are quite different from each other and yet they share a strikingly empathetic blend of naivete and insight. Fama's characters are strong, unique, and thoroughly likeable despite all the grim and twisted events they suffer (or perpetrate). This novel makes the paranormal credible and literary again--a notion that seems to have been lost particularly in YA literature. There is a depth to it that is often absent in most other YA novels I have read, which I found invigorating, but it is characteristic better suited more for mature YA audiences and stands as excellent crossover appeal for adults. It is a bold read for adventurous readers. show less
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- Rating
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