Don’t Read the Comments

Under the name D1V, Divya Sharma, who seems to be of South Asian descent, uses a platform called Glitch to livestream herself playing Reclaim the Sun from the New Jersey apartment she shares with her single mother. She is just starting to gain sponsors and make some much-needed money from her channel—helping her mom to pay rent—when a group calling themselves Vox Populi begins to harass her. Aaron Jericho, a Honduran-Palestinian teen from Philadelphia, would much rather develop video games than follow his doctor mother into medicine. His big break might be working for ManaPunk, a company formed by a friend who seems to be doing very well. When D1V and Aaron meet online while playing Reclaim, a friendship blossoms, but as Divya’s online harassment moves into the real world and she finds herself physically at risk, Aaron feels helpless to defend her. Through Divya and Aaron’s alternating voices, Smith (The Girl and the Grove) tackles the difficult topics of sexual and racial harassment online and in gaming communities while diving into the world of live-stream gaming. Aaron is a far more robust character, with motivations and an emotional depth that are missing from Divya’s characterization. Still, Smith realistically juxtaposes the benefits of online relationships with the dangers of doxxing and other types of virtual harassment, underlining Divya’s strength and determination online and IRL. Ages 13–up. [em]Agent: Dawn Frederick, Red Sofa Literary. (Jan.) [/em]