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momalwaysreads 's review for:
Don't Read the Comments
by Eric Smith
This was a timely contemporary on the dangers of being a public Internet figure and the injustices of being a woman in "man's world." D1V is a gaming streamer, with tons of followers and a lot of sponsorships, but instead of using this fame and (small) fortune to live the high life, she's using the money to help pay for her Mom's grad school and buy groceries. But when the trolls come out, for no apparent reason other than she's a girl, D1V has to learn to navigate the real world while being recognized (and sometimes even hated) for her online persona.
While I did enjoy this book, I would have liked to learn more about the Vox Populi and why they were out to get D1V. It felt almost anti-climactic, the way everything was wrapped up so quickly and easily at the end of the book, and we still don't really know why they targeted her so strongly. Was it really just because she was a girl? Was one of them turned down for the same sponsorships? Or maybe the intent could be construed as the unmitigated hatred and trolling on the Internet and isn't to be taken quite so literally as I would have liked to see it play out.
However, this wasn't a case of some "simple" Internet trolling. What was described was essentially doxxing and harassment. While I feel for the characters, it just didn't bring out the emotional response there could have been if there had been less actual game play description and more of an in-depth look at the different groups.
Overall, I enjoyed the book but it seemed to oversimplify a lot, to the point that I didn't really have strong feelings either way. The content is good, it was just missing something on the delivery for this mom. Although, perhaps a teen reading this would feel differently.
While I did enjoy this book, I would have liked to learn more about the Vox Populi and why they were out to get D1V. It felt almost anti-climactic, the way everything was wrapped up so quickly and easily at the end of the book, and we still don't really know why they targeted her so strongly. Was it really just because she was a girl? Was one of them turned down for the same sponsorships? Or maybe the intent could be construed as the unmitigated hatred and trolling on the Internet and isn't to be taken quite so literally as I would have liked to see it play out.
However, this wasn't a case of some "simple" Internet trolling. What was described was essentially doxxing and harassment. While I feel for the characters, it just didn't bring out the emotional response there could have been if there had been less actual game play description and more of an in-depth look at the different groups.
Overall, I enjoyed the book but it seemed to oversimplify a lot, to the point that I didn't really have strong feelings either way. The content is good, it was just missing something on the delivery for this mom. Although, perhaps a teen reading this would feel differently.