Book Rewind Audiobook Review: Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee
Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee released in audiobook in 2019, so of course no better time to read this one. Book Rewind is a review feature where we highlight backlist books à la Throwback Thursday style. As book bloggers we spend a lot of time promoting books not yet released or new releases, so we made sure to try and give weekly space to backlist books!
Tash Hearts Tolstoy
by Kathryn Ormsbeeon June 6, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Bookshop, IndieBound
Goodreads
Vir(tu)ally yours
After 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.
Her show is a modern adaption of Anna Karenina—written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. Tash is a fan of the forty thousand new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr GIFs. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.
And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with Thom Causer, 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 wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top?
What would Tolstoy do?
Review
I’ve been waiting for Tash to get an audiobook since the book was announced! As luck would have it, Kathryn did an AMAZING giveaway with both the paperback AND audio copy.
The story was just as great as I imagined!
I loved the dynamic world that felt so real. Teens producing a web series that goes viral…And everything that comes with growing up and discovering who you are. Tash is not only discovering who she is as a rising YouTube director but also who she is as an asexual youth.
Tash’s story explores the challenges in making art, especially modern art. I loved that she was taken seriously and that the challenges in the industry (the trolls, fear, change). In the same vein, Tash’s fears of falling for someone who doesn’t understand asexuality are fully realized on the page…And I was angry, hurt, and healed for her through the story.
I loved narrator Meghan Crawford’s portrayal of emotion through the story. Highly recommend Tash Hearts Tolstoy when you’re in the mood for a contemporary with a lot of HEART!
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