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A review by katiemack
Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith
3.0
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
From a gaming standpoint, I think this book does a good job of conveying the seriousness of online trolls a la Gamergate. The terror and anger I felt while reading the harassment Divya and Rebekah went through was palpable, though Divya's ultimate resolution seemed like she was giving up, conceding to what her harassers wanted. The romance was also pretty well done--Aaron and Divya's relationship was a nice, slow burn, and Aaron was a sweet and genuine foil to other shitty male characters like Jason and the Vox Populi.
My main problem was with the unresolved subplots. There were a lot of little events with Aaron's Dad and his online gaming, with Aaron's mom wanting him to be a doctor, with Divya's mom's education and financial situation, etc. that were only briefly mentioned or were not resolved. I also felt like Divya was whitewashed; there was no discussion of her cultural background aside from the fact that she experiences harassment as a non-white gamer, and her father (and her parents' separation) is only briefly mentioned. We also don't see much of her mother. Conversely, as other reviewers have mentioned, Aaron's family and heritage is more fleshed out.
From a gaming standpoint, I think this book does a good job of conveying the seriousness of online trolls a la Gamergate. The terror and anger I felt while reading the harassment Divya and Rebekah went through was palpable, though Divya's ultimate resolution seemed like she was giving up, conceding to what her harassers wanted. The romance was also pretty well done--Aaron and Divya's relationship was a nice, slow burn, and Aaron was a sweet and genuine foil to other shitty male characters like Jason and the Vox Populi.
My main problem was with the unresolved subplots. There were a lot of little events with Aaron's Dad and his online gaming, with Aaron's mom wanting him to be a doctor, with Divya's mom's education and financial situation, etc. that were only briefly mentioned or were not resolved. I also felt like Divya was whitewashed; there was no discussion of her cultural background aside from the fact that she experiences harassment as a non-white gamer, and her father (and her parents' separation) is only briefly mentioned. We also don't see much of her mother. Conversely, as other reviewers have mentioned, Aaron's family and heritage is more fleshed out.