Chopsticks

Anthony, Jessica and Corral, Rodrigo. Chopsticks: a novel. Razorbill, 2012. $19.99 ISBN: 9781595144355 (trade)

Plot Summary:

Chopsticks is a visually stunning story about Glory a 17 year old piano prodigy that is told though photographs, drawings, news clippings, and instant messages.  After Glory’s mother died she found solace in her music, but with the arrival of Francisco, Glory’s new neighbor and boyfriend, she begins to lose interest in performing.  For Francisco, who is new to America from Argentina, Glory is only part about New York City that he likes.  Glory and Francisco’s romance remains strong even as Glory’s father tries to separate them by planning a European tour for his daughter, but the tour is cut short when Glory mysteriously is only able to play the F and G notes of Chopsticks.  Fearing he is losing his daughter to madness, Glory’s father checks her into a rest facility after a disastrous concert a Carnegie Hall.  Now, Glory has disappeared from the rest facility without a trace and nothing is as it seems to be.

Critical Review:

Chopsticks is a wholly original story told in a new and inventive way through photographs, drawings, clippings, and IMs.  Anthony and Corral have included multimedia features and reader participation by including links to YouTube videos.  Subtle hints and clues to what really happens to Glory are included throughout the book and readers will be flipping pack pages to catch any clues they may have missed.  Instead of a traditional mystery where the puzzle is solved for the reader, Chopsticks’ mystery must be solved by the reader themselves, with an ambiguous ending that changes depending on how the reader interprets the clues. 

Genre:

Mystery

Realistic Fiction

Interest Level:

Grades 9 and up

Similar Books:

Papertowns John Green

Subjects/Themes:

Musical prodigies

Piano

Chopsticks

Mental Illness

Author’s Website:

http://chopsticksnovel.tumblr.com/

Annotation:

Chopsticks is an inventive mystery about a missing piano prodigy. 

Book Talking Ideas:

Chopsticks is an inventive and riveting mystery that the reader solves for themselves by finding and interpreting the clues found throughout the book.  Piano prodigy Glory gradually finds that she is only able to play “Chopsticks,” when she is separated from her boyfriend.  Glory continues to draw away from her father until he checks her into the rest facility from where she disappears one night.

Why I chose to include this book:

I chose to include this book because it is unlike anything I have read before and I think teens will enjoy the interactive quality to the story.