As this book follows Tash and her friends creating a web series, they talk of things like filming/uploading schedules, scripting, editing, doing multiple takes, set design, continuity issues, and ESPECIALLY the time spent interacting on social media/responding to emails. Tash Hearts Tolstoy is the only book I've read so far that portrays YouTubers to a 'T'. Recently, I reviewed a book critiquing how it represented creators on Youtube, commenting how most books featuring main characters who are 'YouTubers' are extremely shallow and do not fully delve into the lives of creators. Follows a Czech family (this was particularly interesting for me because I feel we rarely see explicit cultural values from European countries in YA) MC is a Buddhist (was not expecting this but happy to see a different religion included!) MC is a vegetarian (seriously, why do we not have more vegetarian/vegan main characters?)

Tash Hearts Tolstoy features a ton of unique elements we aren't normally exposed to in YA as well as featuring diverse characters:

Such a fabulous contemporary that I would highly recommend! I really really loved this book! It is one of those books I could not stop thinking about every time I had to put it down. Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do? Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.Īnd when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with a fellow award nominee suddenly has the potential to become something IRL-if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual. Tash is a fan of the 40,000 new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr gifs. Her show is a modern adaption of Anna Karenina-written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. From the author of Lucky Few comes a “refreshing” ( Booklist, starred review) teen novel about Internet fame, peer pressure, and remembering not to step on the little people on your way to the top!Īfter a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka suddenly finds herself and her obscure, amateur web series, Unhappy Families, thrust in the limelight: She’s gone viral.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee