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
Elizabeth Fama's Plus One draws you in from the very beginning. In Soleil's world everything is divided between day and night, between Smudges and Rays. Some conduct their entire lives at night, legally forbidden from going out at night, they are the Smudges - Soleil included. Then, there are the Rays who's lives happen during the day. The Smudges are looked down on, doing things factory jobs; the Rays are viewed as better, more respectable.
Soleil -- Sol -- knows how the country works, that show more Smudges and Rays don't interact, lead separate existences. She knows it and she accepts it, except when it comes to one thing: her grandfather. Years ago her brother Ciel was transferred from night to day and Sol has not seen him again. It causes her heartache but Ciel isn't who has Sol willing to risk breaking the law.
Her grandfather is dying and Sol wants him to be able to hold her niece first. A niece who is a Ray.
It's the accident, the injury Sol causes that throws everything into motion. Only, not as she intended.
Plus One has both a great plot and fantastic characters. Our first introduction to Sol not only gives a glimpse into what her life is like, what is and is not expected of her but of her character, as well. As things move forward with Sol's attempt, readers learn more about the night and day societies of the novel's Chicago. We connect more with Sol as we learn what her world is like - the society as a whole and her everyday life.
Dystopians with a future, or even a present, much different from our own are great fun to read when they're well done. They're made even better when an alternate history comes into play. Major events from the actual past featured different outcomes, some with an initially smaller impact, leading to the dual societies of Plus One.
That we are not left with a vague idea - or even no idea, at all - about how the change occurred makes the story fuller and more enjoyable.
How the societal structured impacts the characters, from their day to day (or night to night) activities to their mental/emotional state and beyond is extremely well done. There is an action, adventure plot running through the novel paralleling the question of what is right and what one should be allowed to or prevented from doing.
I loved the characters of Plus One, how they interacted and the incredibly well imagined world in which their lives, their story took place. Plus One is a novel for those who loved character-centric stories and one for anyone who loves plot-driven tales. show less
Soleil -- Sol -- knows how the country works, that show more Smudges and Rays don't interact, lead separate existences. She knows it and she accepts it, except when it comes to one thing: her grandfather. Years ago her brother Ciel was transferred from night to day and Sol has not seen him again. It causes her heartache but Ciel isn't who has Sol willing to risk breaking the law.
Her grandfather is dying and Sol wants him to be able to hold her niece first. A niece who is a Ray.
It's the accident, the injury Sol causes that throws everything into motion. Only, not as she intended.
Plus One has both a great plot and fantastic characters. Our first introduction to Sol not only gives a glimpse into what her life is like, what is and is not expected of her but of her character, as well. As things move forward with Sol's attempt, readers learn more about the night and day societies of the novel's Chicago. We connect more with Sol as we learn what her world is like - the society as a whole and her everyday life.
Dystopians with a future, or even a present, much different from our own are great fun to read when they're well done. They're made even better when an alternate history comes into play. Major events from the actual past featured different outcomes, some with an initially smaller impact, leading to the dual societies of Plus One.
That we are not left with a vague idea - or even no idea, at all - about how the change occurred makes the story fuller and more enjoyable.
How the societal structured impacts the characters, from their day to day (or night to night) activities to their mental/emotional state and beyond is extremely well done. There is an action, adventure plot running through the novel paralleling the question of what is right and what one should be allowed to or prevented from doing.
I loved the characters of Plus One, how they interacted and the incredibly well imagined world in which their lives, their story took place. Plus One is a novel for those who loved character-centric stories and one for anyone who loves plot-driven tales. show less
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: This novel will appeal to readers looking for more literary young adult novels with strong characters and high stakes that have a twist of the terrifying paranormal.
Opening Sentence: Syrenka watched Pukanokick.
The Review:
Monstrous Beauty isn’t Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Here the underwater sirens are dangerous, seductive creatures who kill mortals that stumble upon them. Because Fama’s using folk lore, the story has darker show more undertones than other mermaid books on the shelf today. The story alternates POVs between the seductive Syrenka in the eighteen hundreds and Hester in modern times, threading together stories about cursed family and lost-love into such a complex chain the reader hardly knows what it is they want to happen. The novel’s violent—borderline gory in places—and harsh. Fama doesn’t pull her punches when is comes to the hard stuff. There’s a horror aspect to Fama’s novel that I’m not used to seeing in YA, but will definitely appeal to mature readers who want a serious paranormal.
Because Fama is constantly changing the POV of the novel, you’re pulled into the story from different angles, past and present, right and wrong. Helen is trying to deal with a genetic defect in her family—none of the females survive giving birth—and how that will impact her future. Just when she convinces herself she could be happy without love, she meets the mysterious Ezra down on the beach. As Ezra helps her figure out her family’s curse, the story of Syrenka and her human lover unfolds through the chapters, a dark and deeply developed mystery evolves. The best part about Monstrous Beauty’s small cast of character is that by the time you reach the end all your first impressions (and second and third) have flown out the window. Like real people, these characters are more than you first see or expect.
There were some points where a close reader could see the end coming, the predictability being the novel’s main drawback. If Hester had just taken a minute to think everything through…well, it would have been a much shorter novel. The problem with having a predictable plot is that it also makes me reconsider the intelligence of the characters. It’s always easier to see things coming when you’re reading about it from the outside, but sometimes I really wonder how a heroine failed to see the end coming.
The writing was so phenomenal, however, that I almost didn’t care about the predictable plot. I can’t believe this is only Fama’s second novel. The way she strings sentences together, with perfect word choice bringing everything to life, was awing. I sank immediately into the village, the sea, our narrators. Her writing makes all the sinister aspects more immediate, all the stakes seem dearer, and every character more precious. Monstrous Beauty is a chilling novel in many respects. Far more like a young adult literary novel than I’m used to seeing in the paranormal genre.
Notable Scene:
“Step into the light,” Hester said all at once. She surprised herself with her nerve.?He didn’t move for a moment, and in that span of time Hester imagined with a little rise of panic that he might be damaged somehow—that there might be something shocking in his appearance. She swallowed and resolved to herself that if he came forward she would not show any reaction. She would treat him normally, as he deserved—as any human being deserved—no matter what was different about him.
“Very well,” he said.
As he approached the center of the cave, he held his right hand in front of his eyes, palm out, to shield them from the glare. He was tall, thin, and wiry. He looked rumpled, as if he had just awakened. His clothes were unusual: a white blousy shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and black linen pants, also rolled once or twice. He was barefoot. He had scruffy black hair, unkempt but clean, and fair skin. He lowered his hand and squinted at her through one eye. He had the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. His features were delicate, almost pretty, but also weary and worn. He was gorgeous.
Hester burst out laughing.
FTC Advisory: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Monstrous Beauty. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less
Quick & Dirty: This novel will appeal to readers looking for more literary young adult novels with strong characters and high stakes that have a twist of the terrifying paranormal.
Opening Sentence: Syrenka watched Pukanokick.
The Review:
Monstrous Beauty isn’t Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Here the underwater sirens are dangerous, seductive creatures who kill mortals that stumble upon them. Because Fama’s using folk lore, the story has darker show more undertones than other mermaid books on the shelf today. The story alternates POVs between the seductive Syrenka in the eighteen hundreds and Hester in modern times, threading together stories about cursed family and lost-love into such a complex chain the reader hardly knows what it is they want to happen. The novel’s violent—borderline gory in places—and harsh. Fama doesn’t pull her punches when is comes to the hard stuff. There’s a horror aspect to Fama’s novel that I’m not used to seeing in YA, but will definitely appeal to mature readers who want a serious paranormal.
Because Fama is constantly changing the POV of the novel, you’re pulled into the story from different angles, past and present, right and wrong. Helen is trying to deal with a genetic defect in her family—none of the females survive giving birth—and how that will impact her future. Just when she convinces herself she could be happy without love, she meets the mysterious Ezra down on the beach. As Ezra helps her figure out her family’s curse, the story of Syrenka and her human lover unfolds through the chapters, a dark and deeply developed mystery evolves. The best part about Monstrous Beauty’s small cast of character is that by the time you reach the end all your first impressions (and second and third) have flown out the window. Like real people, these characters are more than you first see or expect.
There were some points where a close reader could see the end coming, the predictability being the novel’s main drawback. If Hester had just taken a minute to think everything through…well, it would have been a much shorter novel. The problem with having a predictable plot is that it also makes me reconsider the intelligence of the characters. It’s always easier to see things coming when you’re reading about it from the outside, but sometimes I really wonder how a heroine failed to see the end coming.
The writing was so phenomenal, however, that I almost didn’t care about the predictable plot. I can’t believe this is only Fama’s second novel. The way she strings sentences together, with perfect word choice bringing everything to life, was awing. I sank immediately into the village, the sea, our narrators. Her writing makes all the sinister aspects more immediate, all the stakes seem dearer, and every character more precious. Monstrous Beauty is a chilling novel in many respects. Far more like a young adult literary novel than I’m used to seeing in the paranormal genre.
Notable Scene:
“Step into the light,” Hester said all at once. She surprised herself with her nerve.?He didn’t move for a moment, and in that span of time Hester imagined with a little rise of panic that he might be damaged somehow—that there might be something shocking in his appearance. She swallowed and resolved to herself that if he came forward she would not show any reaction. She would treat him normally, as he deserved—as any human being deserved—no matter what was different about him.
“Very well,” he said.
As he approached the center of the cave, he held his right hand in front of his eyes, palm out, to shield them from the glare. He was tall, thin, and wiry. He looked rumpled, as if he had just awakened. His clothes were unusual: a white blousy shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and black linen pants, also rolled once or twice. He was barefoot. He had scruffy black hair, unkempt but clean, and fair skin. He lowered his hand and squinted at her through one eye. He had the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen. His features were delicate, almost pretty, but also weary and worn. He was gorgeous.
Hester burst out laughing.
FTC Advisory: Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Monstrous Beauty. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. 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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