Chopsticks

by Jessica Anthony, Rodrigo Corral
272 pages

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....

OMG! This is such a great book! I completely loved it. The story, the format, just everything. If you haven’t read it, Google all the YouTube links, it’s so fun, sort of gives more madness to the story. I know what the authors want us to think happened, but I know what I believe :)

The Girl In the Song

The Girl In the Song: The True Stories Behind 50 Rock Classics
by Michael Heatley & Frank Hopkinson
144 pages

This is a short read, good for music lovers or anyone curious about the stories behind some of music's biggest songs.  Such songs included are: "Dear Prudence" (Beatles),  "Every Breath You Take" (The Police), "It Ain't Me Babe" (Bob Dylan), "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" (Beatles again), etc.  A lot of the songs featured I didn't recognize but it was interesting to learn their stories none the less.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

"Love makes you immortal."

After a devastating accident that took Mia's family, she moves to New York City to attend Julliard and fast becomes a rising star in the classical music world.  Adam has also had a meteoric rise in the music industry as one of the #1 emo rock bands in the country. Only thing is, he can't get Mia out of his head after she walked away three years earlier. Coincidence brings Adam to NYC and to one of Mia's concerts. After the concert the two walk the streets and in the process understand better where the each of them went and where they might be headed.

After finishing the first book (If I Stay), I didn't see that another book was necessary. I was wrong. What pushed me about the book was my gaining awareness of how two people in the same situation really do look at things so completely different-no matter what the emotional connection. The character of Adam is only seen in the first book through Mia's eyes and here he has a chance to show the reader who he really is and how he perceived their relationship. The characters make the book. The frame of New York City nicely compliments the flashbacks to Oregon and the language is simple, musical and fraught with emotion. 2011, 264 pages.

The Secret of Zoom

by Lynn Jonell, 291 pages

The Secret of Zoom is a 2011-2012 Mark Twain Award Nominee, and of the nominated books I've read so far (um...I've read 2), I think this one should win! It reminded me of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unforunate Events or Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Children are called upon to perform heroic and dangerous feats while figuring out a sinister mystery concocted by evil grownups. Man, I hate evil grownups!

Christina comes from a very scientific family. But ever since her scientist mother died under mysterious circumstances (her lab exploded and she was never seen again), Christina has been a virtual prisoner in her family's amazing mansion, kept away from other children and the outside world by her overprotective but well-meaning father. When Christina accidentally comes in contact with an orphan from the outside world, she gets inspired to break free. She discovers a secret passageway that leads out of the mansion. She meets up with her orphan friend, Taft, but soon finds herself embroiled in mystery involving orphan abuse, mining violations, a mysterious substance called zoom, and a corrupt relative she had never met. There's also an airplane controlled by singing and the power of thought. Amazing!

For me, the coolest part of this book was that so much of the plot hinges on characters' abilities to sing on pitch (I don't want to spoil anything, but it has to do with how zoom works). I kept having to get up and try notes and chords on the piano to understand how things worked. Of course, the book makes sense and would be a great read even if you don't have a piano handy, but for me, it was fun to play and sing the notes along with Christina. It turns out the chord needed to start the airplane is very beautiful and kind of mournful sounding. Cool!