Content Warning: Harassment, Attacks. PTSD, Anxiety,



I was so hyped for Don’t Read the Comments for many reasons. It lives up to the hype, for so many reasons. Let’s start, shall we?



One is the author, Eric Smith. I follow him on Twitter and adore him in my feed. He’s such a positive force in the community, supporting authors and readers. Hopefully, he comes down to Phoenix, especially with Changing Hands, my favorite local indie.



Two, GEEK LOVE. They SOOOO geeky and pure and sweet. I WUVS THEM SO MUCH. They have great banter and chemistry.

Divya Sharma is the streamer who help support her and her newly single mom with her gaming. She’s caring and supportive of her BFF, and her mom while being a positive role model with her Angst Armada.

Aaron Jericho writes stories for a local indie game developer who went to his high school. His immigrant parents are worried about his future and getting taken advantage of, pushing him towards medical school and away from gaming.



Three, Amazing Support People! Divya and Aaron have amazing support people in their friends and family. They talk about trauma and give advice and joke around. Aaron has such an adorable little sister with such a great cute relationship.



Four, it culminates in a gaming convention! ~The Showdown~. They mention how BS it is to have a panel about women in gaming with only ONE woman.



Five, it immediately grabbed me, it’s a quick fun read. The pacing is great. There’s no obvious miscommunications or stupid moments. AND the other character’s actually react the way WE do to the situations and say it. It’s the best thing. Finally someone said it!!

Six, GIRLS SUPPORTING GIRLS. GIRLS SAVING THEMSELVES.







five-stars



Don’t Read The Comments is a perfect YA contemporary romance fans that appreciate the geeky nerd fun. It’s relevant, and I don’t think it’ll show its age for awhile.

Like Geekerella, The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You and Highly Illogical Behavior.

Oh. My. God.
Where do I begin? Okay, so characters, D1V, I absolutely adore and connect with. She makes me so happy, and her budding relationship with Aaron made me swoon. Ugh this is going to be very rambly, because I have noting but good things to say about this book. I loved the connection and friendship between Rebekah and Divya, it was such a wholesome, true relationship. I adored how they were there for each other no matter what happened with the streaming. I absolutely adored Divya, just her as a whole. Her attitude, her no bullshit response and thought process to the VP when they started interfering and threatening her and her mom and friend. I loved Aaron and Divya and their cute little quirky relationship. I can’t even begin to explain how much I loved this book. I hope to buy a copy to have on my shelves to re-read time and time again!

First off, I want this game! I’m not a big gamer so I don’t know if a similar game exists, but Reclaim the Sun sounds like it would be so fun to play, exploring the billions of unique planets. Not being familiar with the gaming community also made me a bit apprehensive going into this book initially, wondering how much I would need to understand about virtual reality headsets, Glitch live streams and all the other associated elements but you get immersed pretty quickly into the story.

My biggest takeaway from this book was that I really loved how Smith tackled the issue of online trolls from the point of view of both a female and male character. Smith was so attuned to that dynamic, reiterating with Aaron that Divya wasn’t a “princess that needed saving”. I appreciated the way this topic of “saving” whatever female in his life that Aaron perceived needed it was addressed several times, and how males can be an ally without needing to fix everything. It wasn’t just with Aaron, but for all the trolls that emerged there were just as many that showed up for Divya. It was great to see all the different ways that people showed their support, and also how all of us can support others.

This book brought me through a roller coaster of emotions. I loved reading the developing online friendship between Divya and Aaron. My blood boiled when the trolls kept coming at them. I was on the edge of my seat towards the end of the book, waiting to see how it all pans out. Really enjoyed this book and gives an eyeopening view of how different women have it on the internet than men, regardless if it’s in the gaming industry or any other industry. Because truthfully, these kind of interactions could be transferred to any other interest group and you’d get the same kinds of stories.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4.5 /5 stars)

I've never read such a perfect encapsulation of what's wonderful and terrible about the age of the internet, and it's packaged into an insightful and charming novel about the complicated web of human connections that teenagers navigate now.

Divya is a gamer with a streaming channel that helps her earn enough money to make ends meet at home with her mother, but her channel is threatened by increasingly aggressive trolls who try to destroy her livelihood in game Reclaim the Sun, and then her safety is threatened when they reveal they have her real address to publish for everyone to see. Meanwhile, through the same game, she meets Aaron, another teenager escaping into the game as he tries to forge his own rocky path as a game writer while his parents push him toward medical school. Their friendship grows in the game as they both face trials that are trying to push them away from their online lives.

As someone who grew up with the internet age, every twist in the book felt painfully real. I appreciated the spotlight on the constant safety concerns Divya feels from people who target her online, especially as a woman and a POC in a traditionally white and male space. This is one of few stories I've seen where online harassment felt as visceral and real and omnipresent as it does in real life. However, I appreciated that the story never demonizes the internet itself as the reason for it. While Divya faces threats in the game, the game also allows her to build a deep and meaningful friendship with Aaron, who she may have never met otherwise, something that anyone who came of age with the internet can relate to.

This felt like a very necessary book for YA, and Eric Smith's delightful prose and wit delivers it in an endearing story about friendship in modern times.

Ohh my gosh, my little gamer heart adored Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith💙 It was delightfully geeky, diverse and progressive, and I had so much fun reading it!

Full review to come (after some gaming) ^.^

***I received an ARC from Netgalley and Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada), in exchange for an honest review.***

Everything I Loved:

* Sexism and Racism – There is a lot of sexism and racism discourse here which I enjoyed a lot. In the gaming world or really anywhere online and in real life, there’s always going to be the privileged trying to push down marginalized people. It’s shown extremely well here and called out for what it is.

* Alternating Viewpoints – I really liked the alternating viewpoints. They were easy to differentiate and I loved Divya’s POV.

* Gaming – I don’t play games at all but I really should change that after reading this book. I have a friend that games so the RPGing (Role-Playing-Game) was pretty easy enough for me to follow. I love how more and more books are telling stories with characters having big internet presences and followings. Divya is a well-known gamer who gets sponsorships and has a loyal following. I was especially impressed with how unique Reclaim The Sun Is, I actually really want to play it. Can someone please make it a game? I want to go discover planets!

* Spotlight on Abuse – From the first paragraph, Divya’s stance is “Don’t read the comments”. We enter with Divya telling her mom this very thing. For a very good reason

Don’t Read The Comments is an excellent example of toxic masculinity. This is such an amazing book that really showcases the struggles that girls, especially girl gamers face in the gaming world. Divya deals with harassment, abuse and even doxxing so much. It can be a draining read for this reason as well. It’s hard reading scene after scene of people being jerks online and in real life. It’s not even just one person, which would be bad enough, it’s a lot of people. People who haven’t even interacted with each other. They just share the same racist, misogynistic view. There’s no escape. It’s scary. It’s amazing the levels that those privileged, generally straight, white males will go to bring down marginalized people.

While it made me so upset and so angry to read about it, I know it’s a very real problem on the internet in general. What teenage girl or women hasn’t dealt with a man telling them really awful things online? It’s a struggle. We can try to protect ourselves – Unfollowing, Blocking, Muting, but assholes will still find a way to harass you. Especially when it’s dealing with a male-dominated area. Don’t Read The Comments doesn’t back away a centimeter when it comes to showing the sexism that occurs. Aaron was a really good ally when it came to sexism, racism and homophobia here. He would shut it down in real life and on the screen. It shouldn’t have to be a real “Oh, this guy is awesome for sticking up for marginalized groups” but it can be hard to find that online. Divya has her moments though when it’s extra hard to deal with and eventually she changes her “Don’t Read The Comments” stance to “Log On. Fight Back.”

* Income Issues – Let’s face it, I’m always going to love a book where finances are a bit of a struggle. Divya’s home life has it’s issues too income-wise. Not only does Divya have to worry about assholes taking away her fun with the game, but it even affects her income and she relies on the sponsorships she gets. It seriously hurt my heart to see how she worries when issues begin occurring in the gaming world.

* Divya’s Best Friend, Bekah – I LOVED Bekah. She was so awesome and I love how she did the camera work for Divya on her streams. She names her cars after her favorite books! How adorable is that? I love how more books are having their characters name real YA books in the story.

* Aaron’s Homelife – In contrast to Divya, Aaron’s parents are pretty well off, his mom is a doctor. However, they won’t financially support what they think is just a casual hobby. This really sucks for him as he’s had to build his computer out of old parts from scraps. It’s impressive he did this but also sucky because so much time. Aaron has his own family issues going on regarding what his parents want him to do with his life. It’s your classic art vs realistic job. In this economy, I don’t blame them one bit. I completely understand why they didn’t want Aaron risking his future because life is hard. Aaron’s dad does go easier on him than his mom and he supports Aaron’s dreams.

* Internet Bonding – Divya and Aaron become really close friends throughout Don’t Read The Comments because of Reclaim The Sun. I love seeing how they connected and began trusting each other. Online friendships are so precious. This is a romance though so they do end up going that route and I loved the way it was done. It was a slow-burn that was worth every second.

* Aaron’s Sister, Mira – I loved Aaron’s relationship with his little sister. It was so sweet.

* Fun – Even though there’s a lot of abuse and harassment shown, there’s a lot of fun here too with the friendship-to-romance and gaming parts.

Don’t Read the comments.

Those four words tell you more than enough about what you’ll be reading in this book. Online harassment includes a new level of danger and abuse separate from previous forms in the past. Even having an online presence can now lead to attacks that possess real life consequences for those on the receiving end. GamerGate, in which female game developers were actually threatened and harassed repeatedly, also featured heavily in this book with Divya as a prolific streamer who fought back against her abusers. I applaud the author for taking the time to show these themes in a novel, yet alone a young adult book.

If you’re a fan of Twitch or Mixer, Don’t Read the Comments is both good advice and a good read.

Divya is a successful “Glitch” gamer who helps her recently divorced mom pay bills from her sponsorship money. [It must be nice to have sponsors. I always laugh when someone at work asks me how much I make from this blog. Eventually, I start talking about how much I’m saving on buying books...] However, online trolls are threatening to dox her (put her real info online for all to see). Her only hope is her online friendship with wannabe game developer, Aaron. Together can they beat the trolls at their own game?

I’ve been a gamer and a Twitch-watcher for many years (as well as being a lifelong nerd). So even though I am far from being a young adult, I really enjoyed reading this book. It has many underlying messages about sexism, racism, and bullying. However, I just liked the two main characters, Divya and Aaron, who are both trying to set their own course in life. Cyber bullies and well-meaning family members block them at every turn but they use their gaming skills IRL to fight for what they want.

Don’t Read the Comments is a sweet young adult romance set in the world of online gaming. 4 stars!

Thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

An enjoyable book for gamers and lovers of Ready Player One! It took a bit to get into but between the in-game action and the real world issues, it quickly became a fast paced read.

Divya is a strong female character who handles what she is going through considerably better than I would. While online communities can be amazing, they can also be frightening. Don't Read the Comments does a great job showcasing both of those aspects.

Divya not only struggles with the trolls, but also because she is using gaming streams as a way to help support her mom because her dad has decided to wash his hands of them. I do wish this was a bigger part of the story, as it clearly affects her, but I also get it considering the main plot is the online gaming world. She's a true fighter and I appreciate that at no point did she back down and let someone else fix everything for her. This is not to say she didn't need/want help, but she didn't become a damsel in distress.

Aaron was so sweet and caring and nerdy and I was here for all of it. I really felt for him, his mom was so focused on him becoming a doctor and "not having his dad's problems" that she wasn't willing to accept anything else, especially gaming. I love that he did want he was passionate about anyway.

I'm not a gamer, so I appreciated the level of gaming in the book. It was just enough for me to get a feel, but not so much that felt lost and confused or overwhelmed by all the gaming going on.

[[Trigger warnings for stalking, harassment, gaslighting, sexual assault, and sex-based violence; including real-life episodes in my review.]]

I typically avoid books by straight-presenting men, as I've found that the portrayal of women and other underrepresented communities can be super toxic.

But I love all geek culture, and though I'm not a gamer, I've always felt a perpendicular affinity for these storytelling communities. It's not my medium, but I think gaming is one of the most important storytelling forums that we have. And it is a medium that can be particularly toxic and unwelcoming to anyone who does not fit into the heterociswhite patriarchy.

This is a book that I was simultaneously excited about and very leery of, as it was hard to imagine a male author could really understand the depths of trauma, threat, and harassment that women face.

The absolute only reason that I read it is that Eric Smith has such a reputation as an advocate and an ally for diverse communities that I really hoped he could do right by his story.

I was blown away by how right he did.

I've lived so much of this story myself. As someone who has had a pretty strong online following for art and photography, I've accrued a pretty hefty list of threats, stalkers, and yes, a doxxing that included contacting and threatening my friends, family members, and college. I've filed police reports, confronted police inability to intervene, and at one point I was advised to move out of the city in which I resided (and I did).

So when I say that Eric Smith got it right, I really really mean it. He managed to capture the feeling of helplessness, paranoia, and anger that come from these experiences....and that struggle between not wanting to let aggressors win, and feeling like the only way to be safe is to let go of something you love.

.....alongside all of that darkness, there's so much beauty in this book. The way that the game universe is described just blew me away. It's a place I would love to explore and inhabit. There's also a really beautiful flocking dynamic as Divya's followers and community travel with her through the game, exploring and supporting each other. I can absolutely see why she would love to play; her Angst Armada sounds like an incredible experience.

The characters in the book are diverse, with both Divya and Aaron presenting as people of colour / mixed races. Though it's a love story between the two of them, and chapters alternate between their POVs, Divya's story felt more central, framing the core values of the story in feminism, with some exploration of intersectionality, artist value, and empowerment. There's queer rep in the inner circle, as well as a character who seems to be Ace or Aro; I wouldn't be sad about follow-up books with some of these characters, hint hint.

This was a book I wanted to love and feared I would hate. For anyone else who has doubts about this one, I heartily say: dive in.

I devoured this in a single day, and highly highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press and their Publicist for reaching out to me with the opportunity to read and review this book!

Don't let my three star rating lead you astray. While I initially struggled with this book, it grew on me as the story progressed. I gave it this rating because in all honesty it was really entertaining and well written, but it wasn't one of my all time favorites. I just couldn't bring myself to rate it up there with some of the "greats" in my all time favorite four and five star reads. That being said, I still really liked this book! I kept thinking that it seemed like a less in depth version of Ready Player One, and for that I felt like in some ways it was lacking a little bit in certain areas. I also made the mistake of listening to the audio books for Geekerella and The Princess and the Fangirl at the same time I was reading Don't Read The Comments which resulted in a LOT of different stories based around Cons, which lead me to being confused as to what happened at which Con and who did what?! (Which is solely my fault for picking so many similar books to read at the same time.)

Aside from my own self demise and trying to not relate this book to about a million others, when I took it in its own context, I really did like it and think that it focuses on some real life issues that females still face presently especially in male dominant social circles like gaming. Its so easy for anonymous people to say awful and hurtful things when online because there are almost no repercussions. Hiding their identities and lashing out through a screen is about as impersonal as it gets, but sometimes this gives the bad people all the freeway they need to destroy what they don't comprehend is a real person on the other end of their anger. And like in the case of this book, sometimes they even take it a step further and bring it into real life situations. Harassment and bullying are becoming easier to accomplish with little effort on the bully's part and that's exactly what we see happening to the main character in this book and as sad as it its, its also true. Things like this do happen in real life and its a good topic to bring to light.

The romance in this book was super sweet and I really loved the connection that Divya and Aaron made even though they had never met in person. This is becoming more and more common in real life and I think its sweet to see the better side of this situation pan out. They got to know each other from real communication and personalities first. Letting them form a true friendship and opinions based not off of what others think but through their own personal experiences with talking to each other. I know I have a few friends that I truly cherish that I've never met in real life and while they aren't romantic, they are still so meaningful to me and this was such a cool aspect of this book that I really did enjoy.

Once I got into this book it was a pretty quick read but I had to let my mind stop trying to figure out what it reminded me of to get there. And once I did, I enjoyed it so much more. Like I said above, it would have been nice to see a little more gaming since that's kind of what its about, but even so, I think that it flowed well and kept my attention for the most part. The topics in this book are all very relevant to the younger audience readers today. From online bullying to cyber relationships this can be a book that quite a few people can connect with and I think for that reason alone it will be a great read for those growing up right now. Just don't forget to enjoy your life offline too!

I’m just going to go out and say it: I was hooked on this book in the very first chapter. I felt like I really understood Divya and her mom, mostly because my parents’ divorce a couple years ago was absolutely awful, and my mom and I really bonded together and became a team to struggle through everything that came our way. Literally, I was tearing up from the beginning of this story because I related to it so much.

Okay, yes, I’m not really a video gamer, especially not a massive online play type gamer, but I still understand that geekdom connection and dealing with naysayers…though again, I’ve been lucky and haven’t had to deal with real trolls.

Oh, and I also connected with Divya because of having an online identity that is not her actual identity. Danielle Thamasa is my pen name that I’ve been using for well over a decade, but I came up with it to give myself a little privacy and to also protect my identity a little bit.

I connected with Aaron in a different way, mostly from the standpoint that we’re both writers, and also from the standpoint of having parents who are trying to urge him towards a more profitable career choice. It’s hard to make it as a writer, and even more so if you add race/religion/gender/etc into the mix.

Both Divya and Aaron had very compelling and realistic stories, and I just read this book so quickly.

I loved it, and I can’t wait to have the finished copy on my bookshelves, and to gush about it when I recommend Geeky Reads, or probably when I go to talk about favorite books of the year.

This was exactly what I was looking for in a contemporary, it was a fun cute story, that I feel is very relevant in this day and age. It’s all about a character named Devya who becomes famous for streaming her gameplay online ( which something I love watching). Along with posting online Devya is forced to face the haters and the trolls, she is determined to not let it bring her down, and not read the comments. Aaron is an aspiring game creator, who games for fun. The two of them meet while playing a game, and they become fast friends. When the threats start to become personal and leads to physical threats, Aaron is there to support her.

This book is all about being yourself, and not worrying about what other people think or say about you. I exist on a small part of the social media world, and I think so far I’ve been pretty lucky compared to others, I think I can count on one hand how many negative comments I have received, and only one of them I think was memorable. This book does a great job showcasing something that happens way too often in a world dominated by technology and social media.

This book has a great message, which I think is relevant in everyone’s lives on and off of social media. I have never read another book by this author but that might change in the future.

Don’t Read the Comments is a poignant look at some of the biggest issues in the gaming industry, amplified by the fact that the main characters are brown teenagers. It’s a beautiful book that you won’t want to miss.


Don't Read the Comments CoverDivya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.



Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.

At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…

And she isn’t going down without a fight. (Goodreads)
Goodreads

I received an eARC of Don’t Read the Comments via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review and as part of a promotional blog tour.
This book deals with a lot of heavy topics, so be aware of that if you are going to read it. It does it in a really beautiful way, but it’s hard. Take care of yourself first, always.

Don’t Read the Comments needs trigger warnings for online harassment, in-person sexual harassment, threat of doxxing, threats of photoshopped revenge porn, egging, discussion of unfriendly divorce, gaslighting from an employer, discussion of racism, on-page racism, extreme sexism, physical altercations, discussion of sexual assault and more along those lines.

Divya, aka D1V, is a streaming star who is only doing it to make sure that she and her mom have a roof over their heads while her mom finishes graduate school. Like most women and people of color on the internet experience, she is the target of a lot of racism and sexism that led her to have a policy of “Don’t Read the Comments.” Unfortunately, as usual, those people bring their hatred out of the digital world and into the real one. They find out where Divya lives, where her mom works, even where her streaming partner lives, and they work to make sure that none of them feel safe.

Aaron works in the game industry, but he and his best friend are being exploited by yet another shitty white guy who doesn’t want to pay people for the work they’ve created. I’m sure everyone reading this knows the type. He struggles with getting his mom to understand why he wants to be a game writer and with her expectations for his future. The two meet when they accidentally discover the same planet at the same time in the game Divya is famous for playing, and thus a friendship was born that will last the ages.

I loved all of the little nods to nerd culture in this book. Most of the references were familiar to me but they were also new enough that it didn’t feel like the author was reliving his own teenage years through them. I also loved how real all of the struggles felt while these characters went through them, and how the author didn’t allow the characters to be too perfect. Divya was allowed to be grumpy and prickly and that was totally okay. Aaron was allowed to be soft and romantic and stand up for what he believes in. Smith didn’t allow the bullies to be understood by the readers for even a moment. They were always, always shown to be the assholes that they are, and that was honestly refreshing.

I really loved this book and I think you will, too. You can pick up a copy through Amazon and Indiebound through our affiliate links.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault (off page), Assault, Doxxing, Harassment, Cyberbullying

Divya Sharma is one of the most popular players of Reclaim the Sun, one of the hottest games of the year. With her #AngstArmada and popular game streaming, she's the best of the best and is using her rising popularity and sponsorships to help pay the bills for her and her mom to survive. Gaming is Aaron Jericho's life, despite his doctor mom's ambitions for him to take over her practice. When Aaron gets an invite to join the famous D1V in exploring a planet, he's flabbergasted. But gamer trolls exist everywhere, and they are coming to topple D1V.

This was incredible. I'm not a gamer, but I absolutely loved the way Reclaimed the Sun was described, and the concept of exploring planets for points and the knowledge of seeing new worlds instead of conquest and battle and fighting was a refreshing and breathtaking joy.

There was a lot to talk about in this book, and yet it didn't become an "issues" book although the ending was wrapped up a bit too nicely for real life (and I was sad about what happened with Divya at the end).

I also liked how real Divya and Aaron's lives were and how their physical lives influenced their virtual ones, and how Divya was battling burnout and fame while knowing that she had to keep on gaming despite everything so that she could provide for her mother and her schooling (her mom was going to library school! Yes!).

There were a lot of things going on in this book, particularly with how woman and people of color are treated in the gaming community, and particularly how conventionally pretty women are marginalized and diminished because "they're only there to look pretty." Plus how women are treated as commodities—and campus rape and sexual assault are handled. But how the treatment is changing, and how there are some people in the policing community who are taking a stand against what was once considered unpunishable. And also how people of color and the children of immigrants are pressured to do better and do all because of how much their parents sacrificed for their children.

The theme of the book is the title, and yet it clearly shows that there are some times that the mantra Don't Read the Comments just...doesn't work. Because words can hurt, just as badly as sticks and stones—and much worse when all these elements are combined.

And because online trolls aren't just 40-year-old incels living in their mother's basements—they are people like you and me, they are the invisible portion of the population, they are savvy, and they feel disenfranchised by brown people and women taking what they consider as "their" places. They're damn wrong, but their anger in this book is palpable.

Which leads me to talk about gatekeeping, and who matters. In gaming. In life. In everything. And how everyone can be a gamer, if that's how they identify.

There are no secret codes.

No specific quantity of trivia that must be memorized.

No specific games that must be played and mastered.

There are no time requirements, no X hours played per day to be real.

If you game, you are a gamer.

So log on, fight back.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

Really nice book! I loved how all the technological aspects were included, but I think I might be a little older than the target audience. Definitely one I'd recommend to my sisters!

Divya works hard to make her gaming stream of "Reclaim the Sun," successful enough so she can earn enough money to pay her mother’s college tuition and the bills. This seems like a backward situation, but it is also noble of Divya to help her mother’s dreams come true after her father left. Unfortunately, being a girl in the gaming world brought heaps of trolls who have this agenda to take her down. This is of course ridicules and brought out so many angry emotions in me while reading their crap. They went so far as to take it to real life and harassed her, her mother, and her best friend.

While playing the game Divya meets a boy. Aaron is an aspiring game writer who just plays for fun. I loved Aaron. I thought he was the sweetest and he knew when to hold back and when to step up. He didn’t see Divya as a damsel in distress but has a strong brave force. He didn’t right out assume she needed his help but was there for her just in case.

A did have a couple of issues.

1. It is absolutely easy to apply for student loans. The government basically hands them out like candy. I understand Divya didn’t want her mother to get herself into debt, but it was absolutely possible for her to have gotten a student loan. I am not sure why it was mentioned as difficult.

2. Then there was the scene in the pizzeria/arcade confused me because Divya is so careful not to let any identifying information about her get leaked, but she is saving her arcade games under her handle. It would be very easy for someone to see that and then follow her. That is the only thing I can think of that happened to cause these trolls to find her in real life.

My biggest questions are the same ones that Aaron had:

Where does this hate even come from?
What is it about a girl being popular on the Internet that pisses them off so much?

All we can assume is that they dislike her for no other reason than she is a girl who is encroaching on what they believe is their terf. An online universe. How mature.

Overall, I believe stories like this are important to show the side effects of becoming “famous” on social media. You are putting yourself out there for the world to judge. It won’t be just a bunch of people liking your content. There are also those who will want to tear you down. I would recommend this book to tweens and teens all day long if only for the knowledge I hope they would gain from what can happen if you put yourself on the internet.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

P.S: A note to Divya.

I have been there. I have seen groups of men walking together and automatically assumed they were up to no good just as you had. I think we women are somewhat hardwired for this suspicion. Obviously not all men are bad, and I was happy that you were able to connect with one during all the crazy. It is tough to trust when you have been through so many terrifying encounters.

Don’t Read the Comments is an astute commentary on the joys and very real dangers that come with being a major online presence. It also tackles topics like sexism and racism (in the online gaming world, but also in the “real world”) in a very realistic way. I think that teenagers today will easily be able to see their favorite You-Tube stars in Divya. She is charismatic in her gaming videos, but she also has to deal with the insecurities that come from putting your name and face out into the world on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the reality is that many people who have an online presence face harassment on a regular basis, and often the typical response is that they somehow “deserve it” because they’ve chosen to put themselves out there. This book shows just how far these trolls will sometimes go and how insecurities can turn into actual fear (and rightfully so). This is especially true for women and girls, and the book shows how Divya and her friend Rebekah have to be so much more vigilant about keeping themselves safe than their male counterparts (and also highlights violence against women in a past tragic attack against Rebekah).

But the story isn’t all doom and gloom. It also features a sweet online romance between Divya and Aaron, who is dealing with parental issues and career issues of his own. And the ultimate message is one of triumph and hope and of finding where your dreams truly lie. This book will be incredibly appealing to teens today, and their parents just might learn a thing or two by reading it as well! 🙂

***Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Always fantastic to read Eric Smith’s books! He has a fantastic way of story telling! I really enjoyed the characters in this story, they are relatable and just fun to read about!