Review: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
Illustrated by Rodrigo Corral

 Release Date: February 2^nd 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Source: Library
Author: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
Add it: Goodreads

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....

 

I came across this book on someone’s YouTube channel (I can’t for the life of me remember who it was). When I saw that this was a book made of completely out of photographs I was intrigued. I saw that they I could request it from my library so of course I had to.

This book is made up of photographs, newspaper articles, and even some instant message conversations. It is like one big scrapbook. As the story begins we see that Glory, a young piano prodigy, has disappeared from a rest facility (which is weird and highly specific to the story) that she had been staying at. We then flashback to when it all started and “read” the story until we are back at the present time.

After Glory’s mother passes away her father becomes obsessed with her piano playing. She is homeschooled and does everything piano related. She has very little time to rest or watch TV or do anything she wants. Eventually an artistic boy named Frank moves in next door and they become very close to each other.

Frank hates living in the US and going the private boy’s school and desperately wants to move back to Argentina. Glory’s dad thinks that Frank is a distraction and moves then out of the country for a national tour. Glory hates this and slowly slips into depression and is soon playing only chopsticks on the piano.

Because this is told in only photographs and very minimal words, the interpretation of the story is completely up to the reader. The ending is definitely left up the imagination of the reader. I enjoyed this book and I’m not sure what my interpretation of it is. I would like to think it ended happily but who knows. I definitely loved the formatting of the book though.

My Rating: