Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith
“I’m not going to give him my art with the promise of maybe I’ll get paid. ‘Oh but what about all the exposure?’ People die from exposure. Don’t try using that line on me.”
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.
If you didn’t know this about me, I’m a sucker for books about professional gamers. I may not be able to play a single video game irl, but I love reading about gamers. That being said, here we have an Indian gamer girl. Of course I was interested.
The plot was relatively straightforward, and … yeah, that’s about it. The story is simple, not convoluted, and there’s no big twists. The book gets by on it’s simple charms, and small-town problems. It’s engaging without being mind-boggling, and it’s cute enough.
I loved the intricacies of Reclaim the Sun, except for the fact that it apparently has no goal? You just hang out and explore stuff? Still, it was well developed, and it helped make the story feel authentic. The problems that Div and Aaron are going through were also well done. They were believable, but still hooking. The resolutions were also relatively smooth, and ended things in a realistic manner. I like the behind the scenes look at Div’s sponsorships, and how she struggles to keep up appearances online in order to support her family. It was authentic and engaging, and it busted the myth that all influencers are fabulously wealthy.
However, for a book with a protagonist that is both Indian and a girl, the author is neither and it really shows. Divya seems to have no friends irl. She calls her mom “Mom” which is about as white as it gets. Other than bemoaning the trolls that hate her because she’s brown, she never mentions anything even remotely ehtnic. No calls to relatives, no Indian snacks, no festivals, no cultural clothing. Nothing about how her parents’ separation was taken by their conservative Indian community and families. Nothing about how they immigrated to America. Hell, even Aaron talks about his father’s immigrant plight. Aaron has friends, he has a fleshed-out family, day to day problems (I love Ryan and Mira, okay?). He has a whole personality, while Divya is just “stereotype-breaking gamer” by which she ibecomes a trope. I’m not saying that authors shouldn’t write about cultures that they have absolutely no experience in, but I’m just saying that it sounds hella awkward. If you’re going to throw in brown characters for the sake of “diversity,” you better be willing to do your research. Even a book like Afterworlds makes the cultural angle feel forced, and at least there was an attempt. Compared to something like Sandhya Menon’s work, it’s difficult to make your characters feel real when such a huge part of their identity seems blatantly warped.
Additionally, the whole sexist troll angle also felt very stale, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Overall, Don’t Read the Comments was a sweet novel with admirable intentions. However, the flatness and whitewashing of Div’s character makes it difficult to connect with her, even though you really want to.
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.
If you didn’t know this about me, I’m a sucker for books about professional gamers. I may not be able to play a single video game irl, but I love reading about gamers. That being said, here we have an Indian gamer girl. Of course I was interested.
The plot was relatively straightforward, and … yeah, that’s about it. The story is simple, not convoluted, and there’s no big twists. The book gets by on it’s simple charms, and small-town problems. It’s engaging without being mind-boggling, and it’s cute enough.
I loved the intricacies of Reclaim the Sun, except for the fact that it apparently has no goal? You just hang out and explore stuff? Still, it was well developed, and it helped make the story feel authentic. The problems that Div and Aaron are going through were also well done. They were believable, but still hooking. The resolutions were also relatively smooth, and ended things in a realistic manner. I like the behind the scenes look at Div’s sponsorships, and how she struggles to keep up appearances online in order to support her family. It was authentic and engaging, and it busted the myth that all influencers are fabulously wealthy.
However, for a book with a protagonist that is both Indian and a girl, the author is neither and it really shows. Divya seems to have no friends irl. She calls her mom “Mom” which is about as white as it gets. Other than bemoaning the trolls that hate her because she’s brown, she never mentions anything even remotely ehtnic. No calls to relatives, no Indian snacks, no festivals, no cultural clothing. Nothing about how her parents’ separation was taken by their conservative Indian community and families. Nothing about how they immigrated to America. Hell, even Aaron talks about his father’s immigrant plight. Aaron has friends, he has a fleshed-out family, day to day problems (I love Ryan and Mira, okay?). He has a whole personality, while Divya is just “stereotype-breaking gamer” by which she ibecomes a trope. I’m not saying that authors shouldn’t write about cultures that they have absolutely no experience in, but I’m just saying that it sounds hella awkward. If you’re going to throw in brown characters for the sake of “diversity,” you better be willing to do your research. Even a book like Afterworlds makes the cultural angle feel forced, and at least there was an attempt. Compared to something like Sandhya Menon’s work, it’s difficult to make your characters feel real when such a huge part of their identity seems blatantly warped.
Additionally, the whole sexist troll angle also felt very stale, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Overall, Don’t Read the Comments was a sweet novel with admirable intentions. However, the flatness and whitewashing of Div’s character makes it difficult to connect with her, even though you really want to.
Diclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
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