Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith

Title: Don't Read the Comments
Author: Eric Lord
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication date: January 28, 2020
Pages: 368
Source/format: e-ARC//Publisher

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

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.

M Y  T H O U G H T S

Right from the first page, Divya tells her mother don't read the comments. She is talking about her Glitch channel where she plays Reclaim the Sun. Divya uses sponsorship revenue she makes from playing Reclaim the Sun in her streams to help her mother pay rent, groceries and bills. She does this out of the kindness of her heart so her mother doesn't have to work another part-time job on top of two jobs while her mother takes graduate classes. Divya's father is out of the picture since he left the family awhile back.

Aaron, on the other hand, isn't worried about finances but doesn't get support from his family to fund his hobbies. He wants to pursue a career to develop video game storylines. Aaron definitely doesn't want to follow the footsteps of becoming a doctor. His mother wants him to be a doctor and both parents push him to do internships or to work instead of playing video games to boost his chances of getting into a good college.

Divya and Aaron meet through Reclaim the Sun and they support each other in ways others cannot. While people have way too much time trolling Divya, Divya doesn't give up. She rebuilds and fights back. With popular culture and political issues intertwined within the novel, Eric Smith creates a novel that is relatable.

Smith's Don't Read the Comments is written in a dual POV with Divya and Aaron alternating chapters about how Reclaim the Sun impacts their lives. And readers see how their worlds collide through the game. Smith tackles racism, sexism, online bullying, doxing, social-economics and much more within the gaming industry. Stereotypes are broken down in this novel. I highly suggest this book for readers who enjoyed reading Warcross by Marie Lu and When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon.

One of my favorite quotes:

"A chorus of loud cheering erupts in my handset, the voices of hundreds from all over, and my heart feels full to bursting. While the money to help Mom out is great, and the extra funds I'm putting away for college are almost as good, this is the reason I keep streaming." ARC of Don't Read the Comments, page 35.