Review: DON’T READ THE COMMENTS by Eric Smith

Review:  DON’T READ THE COMMENTS by Eric SmithDon't Read the Comments by Eric Smith
four-stars
Published by Inkyard Press on January 28, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 368
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much to Justine Sha for inviting me to take part in Harlequin Trade Publishing’s Winter 2020 Blog Tour for Inkyard Press.  Today I’m sharing my thoughts on Eric Smith’s new novel Don’t Read the Comments.

Don’t Read the Comments follows Divya Sharma, a teen girl who has become internet famous because of her video game stream for Reclaim the Sun on the popular Glitch website.  Her stream has gained so many followers that she has received sponsorships from several big gaming companies, which means she receives a lot of gifted items and even cash.  While all of the perks are great and it’s fun being considered a celebrity of sorts, Divya also relies on the money she makes from streaming to help her mom make ends meet.  So when she encounters trolls online who threaten her livelihood, it’s a big deal on many levels. They send her messages telling her she doesn’t belong in their community and is taking money and endorsements that should go to others more talented and deserving than she is.

When they destroy her ship in the game, Divya refuses to give into them. She begins the game all over again, seeking a quiet corner of the Reclaim the Sun universe to start from scratch and rebuild her resources.  It is here she encounters the second protagonist of the book, Aaron Jericho, a teen who is equally passionate about video games but from the standpoint that he wants to actually write video games for a living. Aaron is a little starstruck at first because of Divya’s celebrity status but slowly, a friendship starts to build between them.

I really loved both Divya and Aaron.  Divya is smart, scrappy, and resourceful. She’s also a great friend and a good daughter. I loved that she was so determined to use her streaming income to help her mom achieve her dream of a college degree.  Aaron is equally likeable and is immediately a great friend to Divya. He’s also the sweetest big brother ever, even allowing his adorable little sister Mira to play video games with him and name planets he has claimed.  Divya and Aaron are just so sweet that it’s all the more wonderful that they find each other online.

Along with the relationship between Divya and Aaron, the other friendships in the novel really made Don’t Read the Comments such an enjoyable read for me. There were several feel good geeky moments throughout the story involving Divya and her Angst Armada, a group of fans/friends she has met and bonded with through the Reclaim the Sun game.  Having made many wonderful friends online myself, I found it very heartwarming to watch this group interact in such a positive way.

The author does a wonderful job of creating a balance between those feel good moments and the other darker aspects of the online gaming community.  While the story has many moments that left me smiling, it also has its fair share of tension and suspense, which is created by racism, sexism, and doxing, which takes harassment to a whole new level when it moves from online to in-your-face personal.

I have to confess that I was initially drawn to Eric Smith’s Don’t Read the Comments because of the cute cover that promises a “wonderfully geeky” read.  And yes, while it was definitely a wonderfully geeky read, Don’t Read the Comments is so much more than that.  It’s also an in-depth exploration of the online world of video game streaming, both the good and the bad.  Smith exposes the undercurrent of racism, sexism and harassment that sometimes pervades the culture, he also shows the positives such as online friendships that are born from shared interests.  I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary reads that focus on relevant and timely issues, and definitely to anyone who loves video games.

 

 

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SUMMARY:

Slay meets Eliza and Her Monsters in Eric Smith’s Don’t Read the Comments, an #ownvoices story in which two teen gamers find their virtual worlds—and blossoming romance—invaded by the real-world issues of trolling and doxing in the gaming community.

Divya 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.

 

four-stars

About Eric Smith

Eric Smith is an author, prolific book blogger, and literary agent from New Jersey, currently living in Philadelphia. Smith cohosts Book Riot’s newest podcast, HEY YA, with non-fiction YA author Kelly Jensen. He can regularly be found writing for Book Riot’s blog, as well as Barnes & Noble’s Teen Reads blog, Paste Magazine, and Publishing Crawl. Smith also has a growing Twitter platform of over 40,000 followers (@ericsmithrocks).

26 replies
    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      You’re welcome! I found it especially interesting, probably because my son is obsessed with video games and video game streamers. I had to see what all of the fuss was about, haha.

  1. Aj @ Read All The Things!
    Aj @ Read All The Things! says:

    I’ve seen the author on Twitter, and he seems like a cool guy. The book sounds really interesting too. I’m always interested in books about internet culture because I basically live on the internet.

  2. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    Sounds like the books goes deeper than the cutesy cover would have you believe. I like the sound of both Divya and Aaron (they both sound likable) but it seems like Divya is also under a lot of pressure if she is helping to support she and her mother. Love the focus on friendships!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Yeah, this was definitely a case of don’t judge the book by its cover. It had a few cutesy moments here and there but overall was pretty serious.

  3. Jenea's Book Obsession
    Jenea's Book Obsession says:

    I know all too well about the gaming/streaming community as my husband and son game and stream. I love the sounds of this one and I think I would like Divya and Aaron a lot. Great review!

  4. Sam@wlabb
    Sam@wlabb says:

    I agree with you about Smith showing us the good and bad parts of life online, but what I was really taken with were the characters. I loved them so much. They were so fully formed, and he did a great job letting me get to know them.

  5. sjhigbee
    sjhigbee says:

    What a great review! You’ve done justice to what is clearly a perceptive, indepth treatment of a subject many of us know nothing about – being surrounded by a lot of fear and sweeping generalisations. Thank you.

  6. Greg
    Greg says:

    This does sound good- and yes, so timely since these issues don’t seem to g away. You’d think gaming/ streaming would e over some of this stuff by now, but no it keeps happening. Glad it’s being addressed in fiction as well.

  7. Kelly
    Kelly says:

    I’m reading this one soon too Suzanne and the premise immediately drew me in. Not only do women experience abuse online but especially women of colour. The online gaming world is male dominated and even quite a few years ago when I played Call of Duty online, I had to change my profile to male in the end because of the disgusting comments and how I was targeted while playing. Toxic males with massive egos ruin everything. I’m so glad this book exists and I can’t wait to read it, your review has me super keen Suzanne. Beautiful review!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had firsthand experience with the sexism and harassment while gaming. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this book when you read it.

  8. Dini @ dinipandareads
    Dini @ dinipandareads says:

    Fabulous review! The more I hear about this book the more I’m sure I want to read it! I love gaming but always get stupid comments about how “girls don’t game” 🙄 The fact that this is about a girl gamer and the struggles she faces makes it such an interesting premise to me! Can’t wait to get my hands on it 🙂

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      It’s definitely an interesting and timely read. It’s frustrating that there’s so much sexism and bullying in the gaming world.

  9. Olivia Roach
    Olivia Roach says:

    As much as I am not a gamer myself, I love reading books and watching anime/movies about gamers and games? So weird. Anyway, because of that this sounds right up my alley and I am so pretty sensitive so I admire Divya for her quiet resistance and persistance despite the cyberbullying she is facing while content creating. The romance sounds lovely 🙂

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