I found this book very hard to get into, and because I didn't read past 15% I decided not to review at this time. Perhaps I'll give it a try at a later Point. For now this is a DNF.

I was hesitant to pick up this book as I was not clear if the author was writing about personal experience with gender identity. Nonetheless, the topic was handled tactfully and I was entertained by the gamer aspect of it.

I'll admit I went in with very low expectations since I've had a lot of trouble finding well-written romance from indie publishers (and trouble finding queer romance from mainstream publishers, so it's just one side of a bigger problem) but this was an absolutely spot-on New Adult confection. Daphne/Daphnis is an endearing narrator whose occasional lapses into self-pity and -blame don't overwhelm the generally upbeat feeling of the story; their support group of friends is exactly what any struggling queer artist in NYC would want; the romance, while less prominent than I expected from the description, was very sweet. If a genderqueer gamer finding themself and triumphing over the trolls sounds like your idea of a good time, I highly recommend this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2026023636?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

To be completely honest, starting the book I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. The protagonist is in their late-twenties, so I didn’t think I’d connect much with them. But oh boy, was I wrong. Plus, the gaming parts are on point. It made me wanna go back to the days when the only thing I did was play video games and get finger cramps. The characters are so funny and relatable, and everything’s so cute, but it still somehow manages to keep stuff real.

Gamer or not, you should definitely give this a shot.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This story dragged me into the alternate universe of MMO gaming. Even though my own gaming experiences are limited to Tetris and Freecell, I found Daphnis’ world fascinating and I really enjoyed their journey in this story.

Much of this book is an exploration of gender and sexuality – especially within the very visible world of acting and the more private world of online gaming. The characters in this story are wonderfully diverse but at times, some of the characters feel more like vehicles for the author’s message than actual people. This is a message heavy book and there are moments and characters that need a few more shades of grey and a little less idealism.

I am definitely much older than the target reader for this story. Daphnis and their slacker friends (who either live off of rich parents or somehow manage to exist in NYC as barely jobbing actors) are living the Millennial hipster dream. Gen X readers like myself probably need to refer back to their Douglas Coupland and Kevin Smith years if they are going to have any empathy for characters whose biggest concern is hate mail from players in an online game.

I struggled some with the structure and format of this book. The author assumes a basic knowledge of MMORPGs and often uses vocabulary that may be familiar to gamers but left me a little bewildered. Many of Daphnis’ conversations are written – often taking place within a game as electronic conversations. I found the constant shift to script-like conversations distracting and difficult to navigate. But again – I’m pretty sure I’m not the target audience!

Beyond my generation gap issues is a wonderful story of a journey towards honest self-identity. I loved the fluid nature of gender and sexuality in this book and I’m really happy to see more diverse characters in print. I really enjoyed this delightfully unconventional book.

I was invited to take part in the blog tour for Don't Feed the Trolls and I was very much excited. First off, how fun/awesome is that cover? Right? Right! Now, to the story! To be honest, I've never been a gamer. Despite this, I definitely heard a lot about #gamergate and how people were basically harassing female players...for being female. It was crazy and seriously messed up and I like the author's take on something similar happening to her MC. What adds a bit of a twist is that Daphne - or as she eventually goes by Daphnis - isn't even sure if she completely identifies as a woman. There is some mention of other people being transgender, but Daphnis isn't given a label for how she feels and eventually expresses herself. I liked this though! Not everyone wants or even feels comfortable with labels.

As for the gaming aspect of the book, there were definitely some parts that I wasn't 100% sure on - usually when characters are discussing games/gaming- but besides that, it really wasn't that confusing. Maybe that doesn't make a lot of sense, but basically, even with the things I didn't really know, the author kept me from getting lost, and that's obviously something I appreciated a lot.

This book is great for people that are gamers, but it's also nice for anyone that feels "different" or loves geeky culture. After all, a big part of the book takes place at a convention! There are characters of all sorts of backgrounds in this book, so it's full of diversity! Whether it's gender, sexuality, or race - a lot of people will find themselves represented in this book.

A lot of people reading this review probably engage in some sort of online culture, whether that's gaming or not, so I think this book is important for all of you. Trolls exist everywhere online and when it comes down to it...don't feed them. They aren't worth it. This book is worth it though!

I've never been very fond of video games, but I know how hard it can be for female gamers (or gamers who are read as girls), because they are always dealing with being called fake and/or with online harassment (including death and rape threats). So it's good to read a book that talks about this reality without sugarcoating it. Plus, it doesn't only talk about sexism, but it faces racism, homophobia, and transphobia in gaming, and how it affects people in real life.

What I love the most about this books is that reading it feels like kicking gender binary's ass, and it's so great!! It's true that it's not an #ownvoices book and that I'm a cis girl, so I might be wrong, but I thing the rep is pretty good. In my opinion, it reflects very well all the gender stereotypes in our society and clarifies that there is much more than we've been taught.

Another amazing thing about this book is the super diverse cast of characters.
- First we meet Daphnis, a gamer who is non-binary and identifies as pan (thank you, thank you, thank you! Give me all the pan rep!!!).
- Then, we meet Daphnis' best friends, aka the Musketqueers <3 On the one hand, there is Alain, who is also a gamer, an Algerian gay boy who does drag. On the other hand, there is Jackie, who is a lesbian and writes fanfiction. They are awesome and I love how they take care of each other.
- Finally, we meet Laura (my fave!! *_*), a black bi girl who is also a gamer. She's so supportive, and so cute, and is so ready to fight against trolls and defend what is right!! AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!! <3

It would be great if the book was longer because it would give more depth to some aspects, and we could know more about the buildup of the relationship between Daphnis and Laura.

Overall, "Don't feed the trolls" is a very interesting book that explores nerd culture, online harassment, friendship, and discovering yourself, and I strongly recommend it.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, allusion to rape and death threats.

Don't feed the trolls, definitely has an important story and messages to portray but at times it seemed like a lot to take in for non-gamers.

Don't feed the trolls has a lot of gamer jargon when Daphne is 'in game' and this can be complex to grasp at the start if the reader has not played a MMO themselves or has a basic knowledge. That being said it does get easier as the book goes on.

The message is important, at what point does in game play affect real life. It shows what affect in game trolling can have on people and how it is difficult to escape, no matter what the reason or what is being said. It also showed the positives of having a strong friendship group and that although friends may not agree all the time, they will always be there for eachother.

Don't feed the trolls has some LGBTQ+ themes in it, the diversity definitely makes it a very different read and the acknowledgement that you can be part of 2 worlds e.g. drag queen and RPG gamer and don't have to be boxed in.

I would definitely recommend this book for teenagers, in particular gamers or anyone who has been subjected to online bullying.

Okay, I'm going to be very careful with this review because I don't want to seem insensitive to a lot of the issues presented in this book so let me preface this by saying this book involves a lot of thoughts from the main character about being trans/genderqueer and I'm neither of those things so I can't tell you if the representation is well done or not and from what I know and can tell (which doesn't mean I'm right), this is not an #ownvoices book on those topics so take those things in consideration if you're thinking about picking this book up and while reading this review. So, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It presented topics that I think I've never read about (but I've seen a lot) like sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia in gaming, as well as harassment online and how it transforms into offline harassment, among a lot of other things. It was also gorgeously diverse. The main character, apart from being in this journey of figuring out their gender identity, is pansexual, their best friend is gay and does drag, their other best friend is a lesbian (and a fanfiction writer), their other friend is Jewish and queer I think(?) and their romantic interest is a bisexual POC (latina? I think?). All of these things are explicitly said and discussed on page and at least in the pansexual and bisexual representation, which I both identify as, it was really well done. There were a lot of other LGBTQ+ side characters and all of them are super naturalised into this environment and into the mind of the MC and their friends and I loved that.

I feel like you definitely need to know a little bit about gaming to understand some of the things that happen in this book. Especially about MMOs and how they work because I've played a lot of video games but none of those types so I was a bit lost at the beginning. Another thing is that, and here's why I'm being careful, Daphnis talked about their transitioning as starting again as another character and like a way of putting their past behind and do things that make them happy this time. As Daphnis being another person where they go to look for happiness. And I totally saw that they were happier when they found the gender expression and identity that they liked and felt comfortable with but at the same time it felt like the things that happened (the online harassment) made them think about their transition for the first time ever. I mean, there are hints that they aren't sure about their gender at the beginning but I would have liked to see a bit more of a backstory and depth in that regard. But this is just me wondering and rambling as a cis person and I'm not judging their experience because I have no idea what that's like. Also, it felt like everything with Laura happened super quickly and I really shipped them but I would have liked to see more of them flirting. I just feel like the length of this book affected a lot of these aspects that needed more build up and like I said, depth.

On the other hand, I loved how supportive their friends were. Like, they immediately accept Daphnis transition and support them changing their name and pronouns and correcting everyone who got it wrong. They were also super complex and had their own voices and personalities, which I always like. I also adored the convention part, like the last five or six chapter were my favourites because they were so fun to read and at the same time, heartbreaking at some points. But in general, the descriptions of the cosplays, the parties, the convention centre, the panels, everything took me to that moment and I'm such a geek for loving those things but this book is very geeky and I love that. It also doesn't sugarcoat the abuse and harassment I mentioned before though, it's crude and raw when it has to be and as I'm sure we all know, people go through these things in real life and it's so important that this book mentioned them and discussed them with such clarity. I also loved how it was a call out to the big corporations that don't care about what the players do in their game and do a lot of institutionalised sexism because that ingrained in the gaming industry and if that doesn't change from the top down, it's going to be very hard to solve it.

Don't Feed the Trolls
by Erica Kudisch
Pages: 205
Date: April 3 2017
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Series: None

Review
Rating: 3.88
Read: February 22 2017

<i> *I received this book from NetGalley and Riptide Publishing in return for a fair review.*</i>

<b>Mini-review</b>: Curious how the book has been marketed so far, I looked it up on NetGalley (<a href= https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/107831>Netgalley link</a> and the publishers website (<a href= http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/dont-feed-the-trolls>Riptide Link</a>). The book has been put into two sections on NetGalley – General Fiction (Adult) and LGBTQIA – and Riptide has other works up that they’ve put in the Romance section so that was done on purpose. And the publisher has the genre listed as ‘drama, new adult’.

So there you go – this is a LGBTQIA new adult general fiction book filled with drama. But do not specifically look for romance.

<b>Genre</b>: Drama, New Adult, LGBTQIA, General Fiction

<b>Setting</b>: New York City, Seattle (GeeKon convention), Los Angeles, Eternal Reign game

<b>Occupations</b>: Actress, Singer, Writer, Gamer, Drag Queen

<b>Main Characters</B>: Fatiguee Altestis */Daphne Benoit **/Daphnis ***/Bannedict *** (* - Eternal Reign name used by the character; ** - birth name; *** the character, after controversy erupts, enters Eternal Reign on a new server on an alternative just-created account named Bannedict (and when asked by someone what their meat name is/was, they reply ‘Daphnis’, which is, apparently, the male form of Daphne)

<b>Major Characters</b> Alain/Ivy LeVine (drag queen roommate, Ivy being the drag queen name); Jackie/Lady Francois (rich fanfiction author (the Lady Francois part, though I’m not sure how often that name actually gets mentioned) with many devoted followers); Sachem/Orin (Sachem is Fatiguee Altestis’s second in command in the Eternal Reign game, and the meat people (or the players who control the characters), Orin and Daphne have a long history together); Uhruu*D*/Laura (current head of the server Bannedict/Daphnis plays on, potential romance interest).

<b>Side Characters</b>: Malcolm Harding (head of publicity at Summerstorm); Ivan (angry dude-bro); Martin Summers (head of Summerstorm, which puts out Eternal Reign – barely in book); Neal Merino (MMO correspondent for Jongleur/maintainer of Eternal Reign subreddit); Kilosi (character in Eternal Reign).

<b>Story</b>: The book opens with the main character receiving news that their submission in a novelization contest had won a contest (prizes include such things as a ‘badge’ for GeeKon convention). Certain amount of shocked screaming then occurs among the main character, whose name shifts depending on the situation, Alain and Jackie. Between excited squeaking and delivery of celebratory dinner, Daphne logs onto the internet – to be meet with waves and waves of vicious cyber-bullying attacks based entirely on the fact that Fatiguee’s won and assumptions that, since the game character is female, then the player is also female.

Naturally this deeply impacts Daphne who is already having a tough time of it – what with her real life attempts to make it as an actor haven’t gone that way lately. And stuff. So a certain distancing from Fatiguee occurs, but not from the game. No, the creation of a new game character, a male character, occurs – Bannedict. This almost immediately leads Daphne to tell someone through in-game chatting that their real life name is Daphnis.

The controversy swirls. Games played. White-knighting occurs by Orin. Gamergate-like backlash ensues. Gaming convention occurs. Gender questions are raised (as in, as the snippet on Netgalley puts it, ‘I might not be a woman, not really.’)

<b>Review</b>:
Thoughts: In general, this was an enjoyable book to read. In general. Certain rough patches occurred, hence the drama genre tag, certain realizations made through the fog of ‘do I just think it would be easier to be male, or do I actually think I might be?’

As far as the gaming aspects – most of the stuff that occurred flew right over my head – I mean the in-game descriptions. And I kind of had the impression that Laura and Daphnis would spend more time together in the course of the book (even if only through the game). They did, just . . . less time than expected. And good thing this isn’t really a romance because there was more ‘romance’ like stuff between Orin and Daphne than between Laura and Daphnis (thin relationship then pouncing).

I thought of certain things when I was thinking of what to put in a review. Like above how I mentioned that much of the in-game stuff flew over my head. And I was thinking how much or little of my own experience I should mention. Like, should I mention that I played MUDs, MUSH’s and the like back in the early and mid-1990s? Played multi-player games of Doom in college? Played one version of one of the Star Wars online multiple player games, played another version of Star Trek, twice attempted to play WoW and got bored quickly; and that I myself am basically a game character? No? Not mention? Mention? Normally it isn’t an important part of a review of a book, except here when I make comments like how the gaming stuff flew over my head. Probably because I’ve spent the most time involved in games that were/are different than that described in this book.

Right. Well, interesting good book.

Rating: 3.88

Read and Reviewed: February 23 2017

References made by me to other vaguely similar work/topics:
Internet/cyber bullying - <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32174118-camp-rewind>Camp Rewind</a> (woman tries to hide from internet/cyber bullying by going to an adult summer camp) & <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33812911-drawn-together>Drawn Together</a> (I didn't finish the first, and haven't tried the second; my understanding of the second is that online stuff occurs, but most of the abuse is in person relating to a relationship).

Gaming/convention - <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13179845-playing-passion-s-game>Playing Passions Game</a>, <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29083453-love-games>Love Games</a>, <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26310364-girl-on-geek>Girl on Geek</a>, <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18364648-the-student-the-rogue-the-catburglar>The Student, the Rogue, the Catburglar</a>

Genderfluid - transgender or not transgender? - <a href=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23569447-under-my-skin>Under My Skin</a> (or, having people take you for more than one gender depending on 'things' (accounts, roles, etc.)

Don’t Feed The Trolls is an enjoyable and incredibly relevant novel about online harassment, friendship, and discovering yourself even when times are hard. The narrative centres around anonymous male trolls going after a player on an online multiplayer game and how this affects the lives of various people. Alongside this, the main character realising some stuff about their gender and presentation during the fallout from this online abuse. The highs and lows of modern technology and the problems when online free speech turns into harassment are dealt with, but the novel also focuses on the ways in which friends can help out and people can find their strength.

Kudisch’s style is easy to get into and the novel was not difficult to engage with for a non-gamer. The characters, particularly the main character Daphnis, are vividly painted and form a crucial core to the book, making it easy to be frustrated and angry at the effect that the trolls can have upon them. Many elements of fan culture run throughout the novel, including gaming, conventions, and musical references, and these give it a modern and relevant feel not only in the subject matter, but in the world it depicts.

Don’t Feed The Trolls is ultimately an uplifting novel about how the internet trolls can be beaten and how there’s always space to explore yourself and your identity in order to feel more comfortable as yourself. It is exactly the kind of novel that is perhaps needed these days, engaging with current issues but also a light and fun read.