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bzliz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
As for the story itself, it’s a YA book so it really skims the surface on how deep these issues can go. It tries to take on topics like bullying, harassment, sexual assault, doxxing, racism, etc. without really saying much of anything. It feels like the author is a little out of touch with the online world.
If the book world was a restaurant, this book would be some chicken tenders off the kid’s menu: tastes okay but kind of bland and the portion is pretty small.
Graphic: Misogyny, Bullying, Cursing, Sexism, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault
dragongirl271's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith
What a fantastic YA novel that's a book I think everyone who spends any amount of time online should read. The plot, to me, well encapsulates a conversation a lot of content creators have been having for years about how dangerous trolling can truly be.
This book follows two teens as they navigate some terrible online harassment together. Divya, aka “D1V”, is a popular streamer for a space exploration game and has worked har6d to build a safe community for her fans. Like any streamer, she deals with a lot of hate, but being a teen Arab girl on the internet definitely doesn't help keep the trolls away. She meets Aaron, an aspiring game designer, by chance in the game and they start to slowly form a friendship (and maybe more). Divya's also scheduled to make her first appearance at a gaming convention, but the hate is worse than ever. Her worst trolls have organized and are determined to make her leave streaming with constant harassment, threats of doxxing, and more than one physical confrontation.
There's a lot that happens in this book and I ate it all up. Some of the conversations between these two had me grinning and giggling cause they're so damn cute. Smith writes young female protagonists really well and definitely did his research about life in the gaming sphere. The characters and scenario felt very real and like something you could actually read about in the news tomorrow. I just wish the institutional support Divya received was more of the norm for people dealing with harassment online.
1st person POV from two main characters. Fast-paced. Tackles cyber harassment and the dangers of trolling taken too far. Extremely cute romance.
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
scottnap's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Bullying
ahen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Racism, and Sexual assault
_mariah_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Bullying
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse and Violence
dawntin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny and Bullying
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
thebakersbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book gripped me in the first chapter and didn't let go until the end; I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading it before making myself go to sleep and save the climax and ending for morning. Author Eric Smith's teenagers don't necessarily read as their correct age in all regards (increasingly an issue in YA books), but the friendships ring true for what I remember of being a teen, as does the emotional immediacy. I enjoyed how it brought up financial insecurity with Divya and her mom and parents projecting their dreams onto their kids with Aaron and *his* mom. Overall, this book deals well with a number of heavy issues.
I do, however, question the validity of making police the "good guys" in this plot. Particularly when juxtaposed with one of the MCs' parents being Palestinian, it's both unrealistic and not a good look. (For those who might be unaware, occupied Palestine is a testing ground for a lot of the weapons, gear, and tactics that U.S. cops use, often for police brutality against protestors and BIPOC.) Also, the book starts out mentioning how Divya's friend was assaulted and harassed yet the police couldn't/wouldn't do anything about her attackers, so it's weird to me that the same set of cops not only believe Divya and take her online harassment seriously, but take major steps to keep her safe.
Don't Read the Comments was a wonderful book; its few flaws didn't prevent me from enjoying it at all. It does feel a bit like it was written for adults rather than teens, but I think the older YA set would still find it enjoyable. Finally, the mention of the Desi Geek Girls podcast made my heart grow a million sizes and I'd rec this book based on that alone.
Content notes: mention of sexual assault, the perpetrators sharing a video of it publicly, and the victim's resulting trauma; sexual harassment; online harassment; doxxing and real-life threats; attempted harm by deliberately trying to induce a seizure
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
lynnlovegreen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
When they meet online, they have no idea that sexist haters and a lying game developer will lead to them meeting face-to-face.
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, Sexual harassment, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual assault
charlottebreads's review against another edition
3.0
age rating: 12+
- too much name dropping.
- romance was eh.
- divya was cool, and so was rebekah.
- aaron gave me nice guy vibes, and we do not support.
- in all honesty, he was okay, just a little forward.
- the message was a little on-the-nose. they said exactly what aaron's flaws were, and they said the title of the book, like, 10 million times. it got a little tiring.
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Sexual assault