Eric Smith (10)

I'm not a gamer. That didn't stop me from loving this feisty, engaging tale OR keep me from rooting for Divya and Aaron through their trials online and off.

Divya - or D1V, as she's known online, is a gamer who has been successful as a live-streamer - and very much a testament that not everything you see online is real, as her sponsorship money and sponsored products all go to paying the rent so her mom can finish her medical degree. She has top of the line equipment, thanks to corporate show more sponsors, too.

Aaron is a gamer too, but his equipment is cobbled together from parts he finds discarded and can pick up cheaply. He dreams of being a writer for video games, and has been working with a developer to bring a new game to market (although he's still waiting to be paid, thank you very much.) His mom, on the other hand, has higher aspirations for him.

I loved this book, and Smith reeled me in with believable, relatable characters. I appreciate the diversity, and I appreciated the online bullying storyline as girl gamers (players and designers) are often not respected in the (masculine) gaming world. The online bullying extends to doxxing and real-life violence that affects Divya, her family and Divya's friend and gaming partner, Rebekah.

The characters and their relationships are strong and well developed. I appreciate that the relationship between Aaron and Divya starts out as a friendship and anything more takes a back seat to the rest of the story. Divya's fight is empowering and had me rooting for her (and Aaron) to the end.

This is a story that my feminist (non-gaming) teen will devour! show less

The plot concept has been done before, but this is an extremely satisfying mix of the elements. Adam's stuck in the aftermath of his father's death, trying to keep the pinball arcade Dad ran, running despite aging machines and a declining interest in playing them. Whitney has lost her father, despite him being alive and flourishing in growing his e-gaming cafes. No matter how hard she tries in her role as social media person for them, her father never seems to notice her unless he wants more show more publicity. Adam and Whitney were best friends, edging toward more, when his dad died. Their perceptions of what followed that summer and into the school year, are different, but real for each until circumstances conspire to force the two teens to look more honestly at those events, what happened since, and how their relationship suddenly evolves thanks to a broken pinball machine, an online social media war, some dead plants, and a blizzard. Those elements are mixed deftly, bringing the story to a very upbeat conclusion. show less

First, there is Andrew Conner, or as he prefers, Ace. He was once a best-selling author, but now he suffers from a drought of inspiration. He’s neither the hyper-masculine brute nor the silent, brooding type that seems to plague too many novels (of the romantic sort). He’s dorky and quirky and witty and well-read, and even at his lowest, Ace still elicits some smiles—even a few chuckles. Then there is Hannah, a spunky gal from Montana who makes me wonder why can’t more heroines be show more like her? She has an insatiable case of wanderlust, and she speaks her mind. She just might be the cure for Ace’s writer’s block.

My favorite characters though? It’s a toss-up! On one hand, I really connected with Valerie, a young woman working in Ace’s bookshop. She’s shy, teetering on socially awkward, and she always has her nose buried in a book or in her homework. But! She has a secret, which is revealed in time. On the other hand, I loved the Orchid, the ninja who owns the flower shop across from Ace’s bookstore. She only speaks in haikus and she (almost literally) kicks ass. I say almost literally because I don’t think she actually kicked anyone in the rump; she does tie up “evil doers” though, and she chucks shuriken at people.

This only scratches the surface of all the incredible characters readers get to meet in Smith’s Textual Healing. I was in book heaven since I’m one of those people who crave well-written characters over intriguing plot and world building and…other stuff.

There were a number of pop culture references, which might be distracting to some readers. I thought they were tastefully done though and often hilarious. I especially loved the nod to the epic pirate vs. ninja debate. There were some grammatical errors. The pen wasn’t within reach, so I didn’t mark up my book. Honestly, I didn’t find it as frustrating as I’m sure others may. I think I was too invested in the story to care, really. And, although often laugh out loud hilarious (seriously, it was), some of the humor was a little…overkill? For the most part though, Smith knew where to draw the line.

I typically avoid romantic comedies/romance novels, but Textual Healing offered a fresh approach to a plot line that can easily become clichéd and full of one-dimensional characters. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. show less

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Don't Read the Commends is a YA book that is incredibly timely, realistic, and well done.... but wow is it a hard read at times. Frankly, this book is a horror novel about what the internet and social media are like for women in this era of Gamergate and trolls. Don't get me wrong--I loved the book and I am absolutely adding it to my shortlist for the Norton Award for next year--but I also pushed through reading it as fast as I could show more because there's no denying it was triggery.

Divya is a passionate teenage gamer with a streaming channel and social media presence. Her increasing clout have started to garner her much-needed promotional items and sponsorships, but also, trolls who don't want a girl--especially one of color--taking up space in 'their' world. When a troll mob ambushes Divya and her devoted Angst Army, that's horrible enough, but when the threats become physical in reality, that's something else.

Meanwhile, gaming is Aaron's whole life--or would be, if he didn't have to put in hours in his mom's medical practice. His real passion is writing the plot for a new game publisher-start-up (though it'd be nice if he could get paid) and playing loads of other games, too. When he and Divya meet in-game, they strikes up a friendship that feels absolutely genuine--even as troll attacks against Divya escalate and her life begins to unravel.

Smith really nailed every element in this book. Every character and relationship resounds with truth, from Divya and Aaron's adorably geeky connection to their love and exasperation for their parents. The gaming world comes across with 100% realism. As an old school gamer myself, I ADORED the shout-outs to old and dear favorites of mine like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III (with a necessary note that this is the original American Super Nintendo release), plus casual mention of things like roms to play old games. Some revelations about Aaron's dad were especially delightful.

Of course, part of the realism is the horror aspect: trolls, doxing, and the persistent harassment that women endure online. This is all sadly accurate, too, but I love how Smith brings everything together in the end with thoughtfulness and care. Nothing about this book is sugar-coated and easy, but there's still a spirit of hopefulness that is necessary in their world and in ours. show less