Review: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

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 readers flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, they see a girl on the precipice of disaster.














  This book is truly unique to me.  I have never quite seen anything like it and have to give it many praises for that reason.  When I first seen the book and read about it, I did not quite realize what it was.  Razorbill Canada sent me a copy and I opened it up to check it out, I was shocked.  My daughter asked why I bought a picture book and I had to laugh and explain that isn't what it is.  Although you may see it as that or some may explain it as a graphic novel, really I don't see it as either.  Each page you turn will pull you a little more in and will pique your interest a little more. 

  For a book with so little words this book speak volumes.  Each picture, each IM and each letter is a new experience.  As you turn the pages you get a feel for Glory and what is going on.  Her parents, home how she feels when she plays the piano.  Then her meeting with the new neighbor boy.  There is no question that they have feelings for each other.  The little things they share from her music to his art is beautiful and refreshing.  I would not hesitate to say that it is love.  Teenage love and first love is so pure that you can't help but feel for them as things change.  Life happens but they are determined to remain together no matter what it takes.

  The only thing is even if you can tell they are in love and do have to fight for it, I wasn't able to connect with the characters.   It's like seeing half of them.  You get all the good parts.  The ones where the emotions are the most powerful and mean the most but I feel that all the little things that would connect me are just missing.  Also the YouTube videos that are linked throughout the book kind of threw me because it takes a lot to type in each one and find out what is going on.  I think if they had said what was in each video or what it was about that I wouldn't have felt so left out of what was going on.

  This book is all in how you see it.  I don't think that any two people could look at this and have the same thoughts or feelings.  The scrap book way it is put together gives you at times what feels to be an intimate look into a girls life.  The ending is really what tore me apart and gave a little emotional tug at my heart.  I hope it ended the way I thought it did but I am unsure.  This book is something I would tell people to pick up if they can look beyond a simple picture and see what story it tells.  This book can be considered a beautiful start to something or a dark ending.  It is really all in how you see it.

3.5/5

I am still torn between 3.5 & 4... Really loved the unique feel of this book!