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Thursday, February 9, 2012

"Chopsticks" by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

Release Date: February 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Paperback
Age Group: Young Adult

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks." 

 But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along...

This is absolutely the most unique book I have ever "read". I put that in quotation marks, because this is not really a book you read. There are words, but they are very few. Instead the story is told through beautiful photographs, flyers, letters, postcards and IM chats. I wasn't sure how I would like a book told in this way, but I knew I had to give it a shot. I ended up really enjoying the way Glory's story was told and didn't find myself missing the words, like I thought I would.

The story starts with Glory having gone missing from the rest home for piano prodigies, like herself. Then it takes us back 18 months and tells us how she ended up there in the first place. It is seemingly a story of a young girl embarking on first love with the boy next door. Glory and Frank are inseperable from the start and share a very intense relationship. As things progress, and Glory moves out of the country, you start to see her cracking under the pressure and Frank seems to be the only thing that keeps her grounded. Of course as the pages keep turning, I started to wonder if what I was seeing was reality or if it was delusions of someone on the brink of madness.

By the end I felt like I had figured out what was real and what was not, but really a lot of it is up to interpretation. I think you could take away many different things from Glory's story and that's what makes it so special. It is beautifully told and definitely requires a closer look. Words can lie, but so can pictures. I'm so glad I picked this one up and I definitely think it's a book that needs to be experienced.

6 comments:

  1. I'm really intrigued by this. It's available on Kindle, but I'm assuming that it would be much better to have the real thing, right? I really think I might want this one... lol. Thanks for the review!

    - Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl

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  2. Nevemrind... I guess it's not available on Kindle... Haha. I just checked! My mistake! I gues Amazon answered my question for me. :P

    - Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl

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  3. I keep picking up and putting down this book at Barnes & Noble because it's so interesting, but I think I'm a little weirded out by how non-book-like it is haha. Thanks for the review, I think next time I'm going to pick it up and keep it!

    Ashley @ Ashley Loves Books

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  4. Wow what an interesting book. Definitely worth checking out.

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  5. Loved this book! It was such a unique "read." :) Excellent review.

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  6. sounds interesting, i love books in not the usual formats. though not the ones that "try" to be different, the ones that are really and need the difference to tell the story. this one looks like something i would like to try, thanks!

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