3.5 stars

This is a new-to-me author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. And, to be quite honest, I don’t read an awful lot of male writers. That’s not intentional, it’s just that my most read genre (romance) is majority female writers. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I tried to go in with an open mind.

While this story was a slow starter for me, it did end up hooking me about 1/3 of the way into the book. So hang in there! I felt as though both Divya and Aaron got lost in thought with inconsequential details a bit too much in the beginning. That is something that goes away as the story continues.

There are actually a lot of things I love about this book. The first being that the main characters, who are potential love interests, have a small age gap where the woman is actually older than the man. That isn’t done often in YA unless an issue is made out of the ages. It’s not even addressed and I love that!

As much as I wanted to know a bit more about Divya’s parents and what happened there, I soon found it didn’t matter. I enjoy her unity with her mom and the fact that she recognizes all the sacrifices her mom has made through the years. Her mom is a wonderful character that we don’t see quite enough of, but this story isn’t about her.

Divya’s best friend, Rebekah, and Aaron’s best friend Ryan, are the perfect sidekicks (for lack of a better word) for these two. Compassionate and supportive, they also serve as each character’s Jiminy Cricket…their little conscience on their shoulders.

I am not a gamer, but still found myself enjoying this story quite a bit. I couldn’t help but wonder what my (now grown) sons would think of the story. They are both avid gamers and I may get this one for my oldest, who also enjoys reading. Whether I can get him to read a YA book when he’s almost 26 is another question. Not quite his wheelhouse, but he is curious by nature so I may convince him.

This story has more going on than gaming. With everything that is done online these days, trolls aren’t relegated to gaming only. There’s a bigger picture to be looked at here, and I believe this story alluded to that. Which makes it a good story for teens; it’s possibly a good guide to how to handle trolls. Rule number one…don’t keep trolling a secret from those who care about you and can help you. And Don’t Read the Comments! (Sorry not sorry.)

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

You can read more of my reviews at All In Good Time.

Filled with nerd-culture references, this book was a love letter to online friendships, showcasing the genuine bonds that can be formed over the internet while also unpacking the ugly side of online harrassment and discrimination in certain communities.

Don’t Read the Comments follows Divya Sharma and Aaron Jericho, two teenagers who unexpectedly find themselves forming a friendship on a MMORPG called Reclaim the Sun. Divya, an Indian American streamer who is publicly known as D1V, relies on sponsorships to support herself and her mother.

On the other side, Aaron is a Honduran Palestinian American who dreams of writing stories for video games. However, his immigrant parents would rather him become a doctor so in his free time, he finds himself writing potential game plotlines that he hopes to one day sell.

From the first chapter, it was very easy to become invested in the story as we unpack Divya’s conflicted feelings of being an online personality. Even though I’m nowhere near the level of fame as Divya, I was able to relate a lot to her feelings of loving the internet...but also wanting to shut everything down due to how overwhelming it can be.

As someone who maintains multiple online platforms, I loved the discussion of social media culture and the unfortunate, but realistic, depiction of online trolls and harassment. Through Divya, we see the unrelentless racism, sexism, and doxxing in the gaming community which has historically been white and male-dominated.

However, not all of her internet experiences are bad. From her fans to other female and POC gamers to Aaron, Divya also finds a supportive community online which many people can find comfort in. The romance between Divya and Aaron also felt well paced, and I enjoyed that it was more slow-growing than instalove.

If you're a fan of online friendships and gaming, this is the book for you. It’s nerdy. It’s fun, and while I personally don’t play video games, there’s a lot to this story that I could empathize with as a female content creator, and I hope more stories similarly explore these complex themes.