[Review] Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith

I really enjoyed Don't Read the Comments. Eric Smith brought attention to the topics of cyberbullying and the importance of following your dreams, all while keeping the plot positive and uplifting despite the two main characters' obstacles. 

Divya is a famous online gamer with just enough sponsorships to help her mom pay the bills. But then a hate group targets her online and attacks her in-game, online, and in real life, all because she's a girl. When she hesitantly ventures back online, she meets Aaron, a boy with big dreams that his parents try to keep him from following. For Divya, moving forward means standing up to her bullies and haters. For Aaron, it means finding a new path. And for both of them, it could mean finding happiness when they least expected it. 

In this day and age, nerdy/geeky culture litters the book shelves and being a girl gamer is nothing new. I really appreciated that, while that was a major characteristic of Divya, Smith didn't write her as some anomaly. She never saw the big deal in it, so the reader doesn't either. I also applaud the male role models that Aaron had in this story; his father writes fanfiction and shows that it's okay to not be the big bread winner in the marriage, and his best friend is there to remind Aaron that the man doesn't need to have a savior complex for every girl he meets. And, of course, this book had good representation and I appreciate any YA with diversity. Both main characters were brown; however, race never came up when the hate group attacked Divya, and I acknowledge how unrealistic that is even in/especially in today's society. Overall, this was a good read that tackled some heavier issues with brevity, and tackled them well.