Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you are all doing well. Today I will be posting my review of Kathryn Ormsbee’s novel Tash Hearts Tolstoy.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by: Kathryn Ormshee: Tash, along with her best friend Jack have started a YouTube channel where they film a modern day retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Unhappy Families. When a bigger YouTuber gives them a shout out, their whole world turns around and they are getting recognized and nominated for a Golden Tuba award. With her new found fame, Tash wants to enjoy it, but will it come in the way of her friendships and family? This story was more heartwarming than the reader had anticipated it to be. There was so much warmth within these pages, from loving classic literature, to modern day adaptions, friendship, family and romantic love it was all packed within this story and it was all done really, really well. First of all, the story itself had so many layers. Yes, the overall arc was about the YouTube channel, but the individual stories in between that were so well crafted. Not once did the reader feel that any one subplot was underdeveloped or didn’t fit, it all played into the bigger picture and the way everything kept coming together, a nice slow build up was perfect. The fact that this didn’t have a flawless ending felt very real and true to real life; it really grounded the book and the reader appreciated that. The pacing was really good too as it had the reader flipping to find out what would happen next. The characters were dynamite; they were so well rounded and it was easy to visualize each of them because the author really took their time with them, giving them personalities that suited them. The fact that the main character, Tash, was questioning her sexuality was relatable and felt very true to being a teenager. Even when she knew she was asexual, which the representation was very well done and handled with great care, the fact that she still questioned herself was really honest and raw, but truthful to experiences real people go through. Overall, this book held heavier topics, but it also balanced it out with lighter ones and really gave the reader a lot in terms of dynamic plots and character growth.