Don’t Read the Comments

If you follow Eric Smith on Twitter, the fact that this book is heartwarming and a ray of light in the technological gray comes as no surprise. But what really pulled me in was how invested I became in the characters. Divya’s strength is incredible, and Aaron is so pure it hurts. The “Say Anything” moments were pulled off with perfection, and I love everything about their relationship.

But digging in a little deeper, we see the issue of rampant racism and sexism within the gaming community that mirrors what’s happening in the world around us. We see targeted harassment that crosses over into real life. We see misogyny and xenophobia fueling a movement. These things are dealt with in the book in a head-on, pull-no-punches way.

Yet, somehow, I never descended into the dark place I usually do when thinking on these topics. That’s the real magic of this book. Despite addressing the horrors that haunt our daily lives, some more than others, Don’t Read the Comments leaves nothing but positivity behind. The simple joys that come from basic human connection can help to heal on an individual level. The book offers hope that maybe if enough people stand together, society can work toward that same healing. Of course, a little vindication doesn’t hurt.

What I’m saying is that we desperately need more of this kind of book in the world.

On the surface, this book is about a boy and girl–Aaron and Divya–who find solace in each other’s company, in the online gaming community and eventually, IRL. But Don’t Read the Comments is so much more than that. This book has an incredible amount of heart, humor and depth. What’s more, it’s a hopeful blueprint for all of us. An ode to solidarity and community and creativity. An examination of the challenges young folks (and old folks) face, as they seek to reclaim their rightful place in the world.

Yes, this book examines a lot. Deftly, it interrogates racism, sexism, assault, income inequality, toxic online culture, and much, much more. And all along the way, it keeps you turning pages and rooting for D1V and Aaron and their ragtag Armada of IRL and online friends, as they face down an all-too-realistic army of fragile, bigoted, trolls who relentlessly seek to hurt anyone outside their fragile, insecure bubble. And when the endgame–the IRL equivalent of a boss level showdown–finally comes, you’ll find yourself cheering and fist pumping.

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I haven’t enjoyed a contemporary YA this much in a long, long time.

You don’t need to be a gamer to enjoy this book. It tackles the very serious issues of sexism and racism in the mostly male dominated gaming world. It certainly has a realistic feel to it while letting the characters and the reader escape into the digital world. The dialogue is realistic and has some truly witty moments. It builds in suspense up to a pretty satisfying climax where all the important threads are tied up nicely. I’m always a sucker for nerdy references and this book certainly delivers. I also appreciate how smart and strong the main character Divya is. She and Aaron we’re very likeable and easy to root for. It was a little slower in the beginning, but once it got going it sucked me in until I finished it
I will say that I did want to see a lot more of the game than we did. I do also wish we got to meet a little bit more of the Angst Armada because we really only met one of them and the rest were nameless. However I can understand why the author didn’t give us too many characters to have to remember. Overall if you like a story that empowers women and people of color while being nerdy and entertaining this could be the book for you.

I loved this book! I really loved that I didn’t have to be a gamer to get into the book or the game itself. This isn’t overly heavy on the gaming lingo and game play. Even though the characters spend a lot of time playing the game, it isn’t overly technical. I do think the author did a really great job building out the world of the game and describing the game and how it was played so you could really enjoy that aspect as the characters were playing without needing to be a video game expert. I also loved that this covered a lot of really important social aspects and did it really well. Both of the main characters are persons of color and have their own struggles. The main female character and her best friend deal with misogyny, racism, cyber threats, and physical threats. The main male character has to deal with those things from a completely different angle, which leads him to really think about who his true friends are. I thought the author handled the social commentary issues very well. The only thing I really think I would have liked to see is Divya giving a statement about what happened to her and Rebecka and that it shouldn’t be allowed to continue and have the gaming community as a whole support her. I do love that he created the Angst Armada to stand behind Divya in her time of need and that they never left her.

This book follows two perspectives Divya, a female gamer/streamer who goes by the online personality of D1v and Aaron an aspiring game developer. Divya streams so she can help her mom make ends meet and pay the bills. While she has plenty of fans in the online community, a small group of trolls decides that Divya is unworthy of the popularity and sponsorships she’s gained as a gamer and streamer. She and her best friend Rebeckah have to deal with a lot of ugliness as female gamers, but when the threats leave cyberspace things get much more intense and dangerous for both of the girls.

Aaron games for fun and wants to write scripts and develop games in the future. His parents want him to become a doctor and take over his mom’s family practice. He is working with a local game developer to build a new game, but things get a little sketchy when paychecks and contracts never seem to materialize. To blow off steam he plays the same game D1V plays, and ends up meeting up with her in the game. They end up striking up conversations and building a friendship over the internet. Aaron is able to support Divya as the trolling incidents get worse, and eventually a little romance sparks between them.

Wow Im actually really impressed!
When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to take me about a week to read it as its mostly about video games and Im not really into online games… However, it surprised me in so many positive ways!
The story line it amazing and the characters are attaching.
It was obvious that Smith is a huge fan of video games and poured his heart for developing this fast-paced yet heartfelt story.
There are many heavy themes/ topics including sexism, racism, trolling and online toxicity.
Smith was also able to explain the passage of video games and the effects that it can have in real life.
I definitely recommend reading this book!

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