Tash Hearts Tolstoy

This YA novel is written in a strong first-person voice, narrated by a likeable protagonist. Tash talks to the reader as if to a friend, cracking jokes, giving background, and sharing her viewpoint through all the ups and downs. When she fights with her sister, we can see the familial love still present. When she makes mistakes, we can understand what led her there. And when things go wrong, we're right there in her corner.

This perspective works especially well for sharing what Tash experiences as a heteroromantic asexual who's struggling to articulate her feelings and be understood. For teenagers who don't share this identity and don't know much about it, seeing through her eyes from moment to moment may very well come as a revelation. show more For those who do share it, the ability to sink into the mind of a character they relate to in this way may be an experience to treasure.

In terms of the plot, I found that the web series served mostly as a backdrop to the personal and interpersonal conflicts that develop or are revealed as the story goes on. It's far more of a story about family and friendship and teenage dating than about the effect of internet fame on young people. There are aspects of this, of course, and some major plot points revolve around Tash's dedication to the project and how she's reacting to fan/hater reactions to it, but it would be a mistake to expect a deep dive on the level of Hank Green's An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.

Likewise, the web series is only described in enough detail for readers to get the general understanding of it. We know which actor is playing which character. We get details of a few key scenes and the ways they've been adapted, but the book seems to be walking a tightrope between "maybe you've read Anna Karenina" and "you probably haven't". Tash explains on the first page that she read the book as a freshman in high school because the assigned material was boring to her, and I imagine some teenage readers might be able to relate to this. Some of that "some" may have read the exact same book, and maybe that's why they picked up a novel with this very premise. But I think the author knew that wasn't going to amount to a large number, and I think that's why she sacrificed the opportunity to sketch out the web series episode by episode, with Tash's writing struggles on one end and fan reactions on the other. I, as someone who has read the source material, would have loved that, and I think this could have earned it a cult following among Tolstoy fans. But perhaps only (or at least mostly) the teenage ones. It's a shame that authors can't make a living off a small number of adoring readers rather than a large number of satisfied ones.

As it is, you don't need to have read Tolstoy to understand the plot of this book. There may be a few things you won't pick up on, but you can trust Tash when she explains what really matters and how the audience of the web series is likely to respond. Of course, if you ever plan to read Anna Karenina, you should be aware that this book will spoil a major aspect of the ending for you.

I'm not particularly qualified to judge the romantic aspects of any book, but I would like to mention that, while many romance tropes tend to annoy me, the ones in here did not do so. Miscommunication makes a lot more sense to me in the context of a teenager who's in the process of coming to terms with an identity that's commonly misunderstood and difficult to open up about. A delay in getting together with a potential romantic partner who seems great makes sense when you're not sure how they will respond to that identity or when you're worried their identity could make the two of you incompatible. It also lends a degree of freshness to the plot because we as a society haven't been writing romances of this type for very long.

There aren't too many trigger warnings to beware of here. A scattering of acephobia. Plotlines involving cancer and pregnancy for those sensitive to that. But I do have some complaints about the messaging.

First, there's this quote: "Of course he's in love with you. What did you expect? You grew up together and, bonus, you're not related. It was kind of inevitable.". Which is character dialogue that maybe could have been argued with, but Tash later agrees that it was inevitable. Which really bothers me because if Tash was aromantic (as many readers of this book might be), this would be exactly the sort of thought that would likely be ruining her legitimately platonic friendships. "Sorry, Tash," says an incredibly close friend she's known from childhood, "we can't hang out the way we used to anymore because I have a romantic partner now, and no one's going to believe that having fun and being emotionally supportive of each other isn't cheating despite the fact that I feel only platonic friendship for you, too. Maybe we'll even need to stop hanging out altogether because my new partner believes I must have hidden feelings for anyone I've known this long. Go hang out with all the people who aren't in romantic relationships, I guess. And be prepared for them to do the same as I did if they start new relationships. Or be prepared for them to confess feelings for you and refuse to believe that you don't feel the same. You know what, maybe you should just stop being friends with anyone who isn't aromantic because these problems are, as previously established, inevitable. Even people who aren't attracted to women are going to ditch a friend quite often in favor of a romantic partner. They're not going to invite you to hang out without their partner in any situation where you could be confused for their partner just by being there. And having a third wheel is awkward. Do you know any other people who are aromantic? I guess it's going to get pretty lonely for you if you don't, huh?". Long story short, I find it really damaging when people refuse to believe that people can be friends and not have feelings for each other based only on how long they've known each other. I find it damaging when people believe it based on any criteria other than actual signs of romantic or sexual attraction. And I was hoping for better from this book.

Second, the book ends with Tash deciding to start a new vlog in which she's going to talk about her life. It's up to interpretation exactly how much she plans to share, but I got the impression that it was going to include some incredibly personal things, including some about people from whom she may not have gotten permission. And I, having seen how she responded to hate comments on the fictional web series, felt that she was not at all mentally and emotionally prepared for the potential outcome of this. More importantly, I felt this was encouraging teenagers to do the same with potentially even fewer safeguards in place (because the book didn't mention the importance of them). While I think it's absolutely admirable to want to increase awareness of certain topics and arguably essential for an artist to create works straight from the heart, it isn't wise to post certain things on the internet without considering the risks.

Overall, I think this book will appeal to teenagers who identify with the main character as well as those who just find her to be likeable and want to read about the struggles in her life. I imagine it will also appeal to those intrigued by my description of the romance plotline. But I hope the things I put in the spoilers above will be taken with a grain of salt. If you skipped them in favor of reading the book first, I hope you come back later to read and consider. Perhaps you won't end up interpreting these things the same way I did, but we can have a conversation about them if you'd like. show less

During the summer before her final year of high school, the web series adaptation of [Anna Karenina] that Tash has been working on with her best friend, Jack, suddenly gains a tons of followers. Dealing with mild levels of internet fame makes for an even more complicated summer as Tash struggles with her friendships, her family dynamics, and her plans for after high school.

Objectively, this is a solid YA novel. Tash is dealing with a lot of relationship stuff while also struggling with how to share with those closest to her that she's asexual and what that means for her. And I can only imagine how valuable it is for asexual readers to see a representation of themselves. But as an adult reader, I found myself mostly rolling my eyes at show more how self-absorbed and selfish Tash is for most of the novel. There's a plot line that happens with her parents that I found myself much more interested in, which is probably a sign of getting too old for YA. Recommended for teens who are into web series, classic fiction, or are interested in reading about asexual characters. show less

Tash is at her sister’s graduation when Unhappy Families, the web series she wrote and directs, goes viral. Suddenly, instead of a few hundred people watching her modern adaptation of Anna Karenina, she has over forty thousand subscribers. Over the course of the summer, Tash will deal with drama onscreen and off, balancing filming schedules and the delicate egos of temperamental actors, family drama, friendship drama, and a tentative text and email relationship with another vlogger — except Tash is asexual, so she’s trying to figure out how that might work when they meet in person.

These characters are so great — realistically flawed and sometimes awful to each other, but you find yourself rooting for them all the same. I loved show more all of the parts about filming the web series, which rang true to me in terms of actors and techies interacting. I also loved Tash’s warm and (mostly) loving family, and the fact that a certain plot twist regarding them really came as a surprise to me. Plus, it’s set in Lexington, Kentucky, my favorite place, so I got an extra thrill when familiar spots were mentioned.

One small quibble: Ormsbee chose to make Tash’s dad Eastern Orthodox, so Tash mentions that a few times, but I never get the sense that the author knows much about Orthodoxy and how it differs from other branches of Christianity. For instance, Tash talks about hearing a certain Bible verse at an Easter service, but the readings for Pascha (Orthodox Easter) are set, and don’t include that verse. Later, she mentions attending services at “Christ Church Cathedral,” but that’s not a very likely name for an Orthodox cathedral, which would typically be named for a saint or a feast of the church. Lexington has a Greek Orthodox Church, Panagia Pantovasilissa (Holy Mary Queen of All) and an Antiochian Orthodox Church, St. Andrew. I can totally see why the author would want to use a fictional church name rather than a real one (she made up a fictional high school, though mentioned real establishments elsewhere in the book), but she could have chosen a name that fits existing naming conventions. But I’ve already written more about Orthodoxy in this review than the author did in the entire book, so like I said, it’s a very minor issue. All in all, an enjoyable book that I stayed up late to finish, and one I’d recommend if you enjoy realistic YA fiction. show less

This book is definitely something I needed but didn’t know how much. This is the first time I’ve read a book with the main character being asexual. If I’d had this novel several years ago I probably would have figured out my own sexuality long before I did. It cut right to the quick about my own thoughts and feelings and insecurities and uncertainties and it made me feel seen in a way that I’ve never had in another book before. This is why representation matters so much. I am just so glad that this book exists. Plus the entire thing was just funny, sweet and cute with a wonderfully satisfying ending.

“If you want a chance at being happy, exist. Because yes, life can suck, but as long as you're alive, there's a chance you can be happy.”

Tash Hearts Tolstoy was above all a fun book. It was so easy to read I devoured it in one day. We follow the Tash Zelenka, co-creator of a modernized Anna Karenina webseries, as her webseries reaches new heights and propels her toward virtual acclaim and her crush on fellow vlogger Thom Causer.

Things I Liked
I LOVED the fact that we get explicit asexual representation in the story! I loved seeing Tash discover what she identified as. I love that we see her research and process and come to understand herself more. It was great.

Tash and Jack’s friendship was so realistic and I really liked it a show more lot. They were best friends who were unflinchingly honest with each other, but never intentionally cruel or hurtful. They respected each other so much and you could clearly see the care and support there. I loved that the created this webseries together and were pursuing their passions. Even though their personalities were very different, they complimented each other.

Tash and Paul was the other leg of the best friend triangle and I loved them so much too! They didn’t have as different personalities as Tash and Jack, so they melded easier. They have great chemistry and their relationship felt earnest.

Things I Didn’t Like
I didn’t like any other character dynamic in the story and that made me sad. I thought the family dynamics were weak, in Tash’s family and in Jack and Pauls, I actively disliked Tash’s dynamic with her sister, I was a bit disappointed by the cast/crew friendship. I was expecting more there, but I just didn’t really feel anything.

There was a lot of selfishness that was off-putting and made me like the characters less. Several character were selfish and I just couldn’t connect with them, as a character driven reader this limited my personal enjoyment of the story.

A good, but not a great read. I wish I liked more of the characters and relationships in the story, because I definitely would have enjoyed the book more, but it was a fun time and I LOVED the representation. Tash Hearts Tolstoy is a fun look at fandom and self discovery. show less

This is a perfectly good book and a “fannish YA” novel that gets fandom right, but it never quite clicked with me. I blame hype and age more than anything.

Tash is a great character. I liked seeing her struggle with the web-series and its fandom, since that’s not a world I’m very familiar with, and I liked seeing her struggle with the “real life” stuff as well—friends, family, school, romance, general life uncertainty. It’s all very YA contemporary on that end, without much to switch things up in terms of tropes and expectations. (Part of what didn’t click, I think.) I especially liked the parallel, deliberate or no, to Tolstoy’s famous line about unhappy families—so yeah, it’s reasonably deep without being show more depressing.

Where this fell for me was not in Tash’s fannish voice or her frequent references to Tolstoy’s life, but in her asexuality. It’s good rep! It rings true! It’s just … I’ve been seeing this book recced as “perfect ace rep, this is me, I loved it” and so I got my hopes up. Sadly, my experience and Tash’s don’t line up that well and some of her explanations felt a little bit “Ace 101″ and “issue novel.” Which is, again, fine, especially if you’re a teen and this is the first real intro to the subject, but … I’m not a teen and this wasn’t my intro. (See why I blamed age?)

tl;dr: Another solid read and recommendation but once again not one I personally enthuse over.

Warnings: Protagonist subject to ace-phobia. Several characters dealing with cancer second-hand.

7/10 show less

Tash's web series, a retelling of [Anna Karenina] has gone viral. She has to deal with the ramifications of this peculiar kind of fame as well as figure out what her asexuality means for her, navigate friendships and changing family relationships, and decide what she's going to do about college. I kept losing interest in this YA novel, despite thinking it was pretty good and not being able to put my finger on anything that was making me lose interest. I read the last ~100 pages in one sitting and enjoyed that more than any of the rest of the novel, so maybe it was just that I never gave myself enough time in one go to get really stuck in. *shrug* Recommended if the premise sounds up your street, especially as the ace aspects were show more handled quite well, I thought. show less