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....
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0 0Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
A story told entirely through images, Chopsticks is a unique and interesting entry into YA, and something I found really intriguing. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite do it for me. Despite my interest in graphics and art to some degree, Chopsticks didn’t click with me. I was too aware that none of it was real, that all of it was created and staged, especially when there were pictures that were sepia-toned or polariod for some reason, when it takes place in the digital era. Polaroid pictures next to IM conversations were just too jarring.
The story itself wasn’t too bad; Glory is a piano prodigy who may or may not have cracked, and who’s madly in love with Frank, the boy next door. The question is whether it’s all real or just a part of Glory’s broken mind. Honestly, I didn’t care in the end. It all felt too distant, and it was hard to connect to either Glory or Frank, despite the many indications via their art that they were incredibly depressed teens. I read a lot of comics, and I’ve come to appreciate that art can and sometimes does tell a story better than words can; this just wasn’t the case in Chopsticks.
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