Summary: If there’s one man Natasha “Tash” Zelenka loves in this world, it’s Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, author of her favorite book, Anna Karenina. When Tash and her best friend Jack’s web series, Unhappy Families, which is a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina, gets a shoutout from a famous vlogger, they go viral. With a Golden Tuba nomination, Tash has the opportunity to meet Thom Causer, a fellow vlogger with some flirty vibes, and start something in-real-life, but how can she explain to him that she’s romantic asexual?

My Rating: 4.75/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

I flew through Tash Hearts Tolstoy in less than two days and I’m still sad that it’s over; for me, this novel more than made the hype. One of the many reasons why that Tash Hearts Tolstoy has been floating around the book blogging world since its release in June 2017 is its diversity regarding sexual orientation. While Tash Hearts Tolstoy includes both heterosexuality and homosexuality, it stands out for having an asexual main character. Before reading the novel, I had never read a book with an asexual character, let alone an ace main character. In my opinion, Kathryn Ormsbee did a fantastic job of explaining what it meant for Tash to be asexual and how Tash continues to struggle explaining to the people in her life what it means to be romantic asexual.

The big cast of characters in Tash Hearts Tolstoy was both a like and dislike for me. I loved almost all of the characters set in the story, but I often had trouble keeping track of all of the people involved in Unhappy Families and how Tash came about meeting them (for example, I didn’t really remember that she had met Jay and Serena at arts school). However, I was super thankful for the Unhappy Families cast and crew list at the beginning of the novel to help keep track. Speaking of Unhappy Families, I absolutely loved how this web series was a main component of the novel. Being a blogger and making videos in school myself, I loved seeing the filming process, and I loved even more how a piece of literature inspired the show!

One of my favorite aspects of Tash Hearts Tolstoy was Tash’s relationships with Jack, Paul, and her family. Jack reminded me a lot of Sam Puckett from iCarly (Teen Nick is one of my favorite TV channels after all), and Paul was my favorite character in the book (I figured by the hundred page mark, especially during the Ping-Pong table scene, that his relationship with Tash was definitely something more). Like Paul and Jack, I wasn’t sold on Thom either and knew Tash’s meeting him wouldn’t go exactly smooth. When it came to the Zelenka family, I was in love! We also got to see diversity in Tash’s family life, with her dad’s family being from the Czech Republic and her mom missing life in New Zealand with her family. There was bit more diversity in the Zelenka fam as well: Tash and her mom are Buddhists (unrelated to their religion, but they’re also both vegetarians!), and while being Buddhist, Tash and her sister, Klaudie, still attend church with their dad. It made me sad when Klaudie decides to leave Unhappy Families in the beginning of the novel, but I didn’t really buy the excuse that Klaudie was expected to go a bit wild the summer before her freshmen year of college (yes, this opinion is coming from the girl who spends as much time as she can near her bookshelves before she goes back to school). However, I was happy that Klaudie and Tash resolve their issues before she goes to school and the family can return to somewhat normalness. I’m glad Klaudie’s absence didn’t come from a jealously over Tash’s relationship Paul and Jack (so happy to have a read with little predictability!). Overall, the Zelenkas had a very close family dynamic that I love seeing in young-adult novels, and I could have seen myself reacting the same way Klaudie and Tash did to their parents’ news.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy is filled with friendship, family life, diversity, and web series shenanigans that will more than satisfy any YA book lover’s heart, especially those who are looking for the book about fandoms and the Internet.

Have you read or are planning to read Tash Hearts Tolstoy? Share your thoughts and feels in the comments!

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, the companion novel to My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, is a collection of short stories that take place in my favorite season, summer. The anthology is edited by Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss and the fall 2017 release There’s Someone Inside Your House. Summer Days and Summer Nights includes twelve short stories from Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Being a fan of My True Love Gave to Me, I knew that I would love Summer Days and Summer Nights, and I was correct! The cover is just as cute as My True Love Gave to Me, and I love how the lake is still our main setting on the cover along with the addition of the twelve couples from the book. There were only three out of the twelve stories that I wasn’t a huge fan of—Cassandra Clare’s “Brand New Attraction”, Lev Grossman’s “The Map of Perfect Tiny Things”, and Libba Bray’s “Last Stand at the Cinegore”, mainly because I didn’t really enjoy the more fantastical/magical elements set in each story. However, I did enjoy “Brand New Attraction” for its circus setting, along with liking “Last Stand at the Cinegore” for taking place at a horror-themed movie theatre. Below, I’ll be recapping my favorite stories in the anthology.

“Sick Pleasure” by Francesca Lia Block– “Sick Pleasure” stood out to me mainly because all of the charcters in the story either go by nicknames or named after the letter of the alphabet!

“Souvenirs” by Tim Federle– “Souvenirs” features two gay interests who work at an amusement park. The last day of summer is not only the last day of work for the two, but also their pre-designated break-up day.

“Love is the Last Resort” by Jon Skovron– I enjoyed “Love is the Last Resort” for its setting—a resort- and its cast of characters. There’s a pool boy, basketball, a lovesick poet, a rich heiress, a maze, and more!

“Good Luck and Farewell” by Brandy Colbert– I enjoyed “Good Luck and Farewell” for its focus on family, but the romance and pizza also made the story for me.

“Inertia” by Veronica Roth– I enjoyed “Inertia” for its futuristic elements, flashbacks, and heartfelt-ness.

“The End of Love” by Nina LaCour– I started reading Nina LaCour’s work this year, and I’ve really enjoyed her writing,  “The End of Love” being no exception. Like her novels We Are Okay and Everything Leads to You, her short story features lesbian love interests and unlike those two novels, geometry class and a camp site.

“Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail” by Leigh Bardugo– When I first started reading “Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail”, I first thought that this would having fantastical elements. If you know anything about Leigh Bardugo, you won’t be surprised when I told you that I found myself wrong! However, I loved this story about lake monsters and Dairy Queen.

“A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong” by Jennifer E. Smith– Jennifer E. Smith had all of the elements for a summer contemporary story- summer camp, arcade games, and love. I really enjoyed this story for its cuteness and diversity.

“In Ninety Minutes, Turn North”  by Stephanie Perkins– My favorite story in the anthology, “In Ninety Minutes, Turn North” follows the same charcters from Stephanie Perkin’s story in My True Love Gave to Me. I absolutely loved being reunited with Marigold and North and seeing them in a summery landscape (even if Marigold didn’t enjoy it as much).

Have you read Summer Days and Summer Nights? Share your thoughts in the comments!