[Review: Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral]

"Chopsticks"
Author: Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
Series: None
Pages: 272
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Thriller, Graphic Novel
Date Published: February 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Format Read: Paperback from the library

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Summary:

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...

-Goodreads 

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Chopsticks,

You just blew my mind. I had no idea what you were when I picked you up at the library. I've been on a graphic novel kick lately and I saw that you were a book told through multimedia and I knew I had to "read" you. You're like "reading" a favorite Indie movie. Everything is so off kilter, but at the end of it all, you're still left with the knowledge that you've experienced something special. So, thanks for the memories.

-The White Unicorn

Honestly, I think that everyone should at least experience Chopsticks. I realize that it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it's something so unique that I think everyone can get something out of it. The book is told through, mainly photography, and if you download the app, YouTube videos. It has pictures of Glory and Frank. It has pictures of paintings. It has pictures of landmarks. It has pictures of letters. It has wonderful photography inside of it's pages that ends up telling you a whole story. 

Chopsticks has very few words inside of it, but in the end you feel like you've read something shocking and inventive. I almost wish that I hadn't posted the summary at the top of this review, because the less you know about this book going into it, the better off you are. 

As I flipped through the pages I made sure to pay attention to every detail presented. I was being told a story without many words and so I knew that every single detail displayed would end up meaning something. I'm glad that's what I did, because if you flipped through this like it was a coffee table book, you'd miss out on the story that it's trying to tell.

Clues are woven throughout and even though I suspected the outcome, the conclusion still left me shocked. Honestly, I'd love to see this book brought to life on screen. I feel like people would love it just as much as I did if it was in movie form. Luckily, I think the book will do just fine on it's own. 

Chopsticks is a feat in the fact that it tells a story in a way that's different and it does it really really well. If you're in the mood for something that you've never seen done before, pick yourself up a copy. You won't be sorry.

P.S. if you've read it, let's talk about the ending!

Rating:

4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!

[Review: Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick]

"Tsarina"
Author: J. Nelle Patrick
Series: ?
Pages: 331
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction/Alternate History
Date Published: February 27th, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Format Read: Hardcover from the library

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Summary:

Natalya knows a secret.
A magical Faberge egg glows within the walls of Russia's Winter Palace.
It holds a power rooted in the land and stolen from the mystics.
A power that promises a life of love for her and Alexei Romanov.
Power, that, in the right hands, can save her way of life.
But it's not in the right hands.

-Goodreads 

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Tsarina,

Thanks for being, what I think is, the perfect version of an alternate history novel! You played at twisting things and adding a (slightly goofy) magical flare to a time in history that was scary and sad. You gave us real people as characters and you gave us fake characters that were able to tell your story. Sure you flubbed a few things to make your story work, but isn't that how you make a story work? You were so atmospheric and chaotic and I loved every minute that I was in your beautifully written pages!

-The White Unicorn

Guys, this book is so gorgeously written. Patrick has this way with words. Her sentences are beautiful and the flow of her writing is perfect for this story. It's just gritty enough to make the horrors happening in Russia feel real, while also capitalizing on the glitz and glory that was Romanov ruled Russia. This story is masterfully told, even if some of magical realism made me chuckle. The fact that Patrick could take the known facts about the Romanov's and the political things that were swirling around them and add a magical element that, for all intensive purposes, worked tells you just how good of a story teller she is.

The three main characters that we are introduced to never existed, but they show us both sides of the war as it's unfolding and escalating to the end of the Russia that they all grew up in. Natalya is spunky and headstrong. She's also a bit rash and hasty in her choices, which caused me to roll my eyes at her. That being said I liked her and I felt like emotionally she was fully realized, even if she wasn't always the smartest cookie in the jar. Emilia started out soft. She was the best friend who didn't seem to have any backbone and then out of nowhere she became a bit of a badass and I loved that about her. Leo is a red. He's everything that Natalya and her family are against and I loved the tension between the two of them. I found him to be a fascinating character and I liked that Patrick decided to give us a look into that side of the revolution. We see so much of the Romanov side of things, so I thought that was a smart move on her part.

We don't see much of the royal family, so if you think that's what you're going to be getting, you're wrong. This really worked for me, but I can see it coming as surprise for some. Alexei shows up for a chapter and a half, but then the chaos hits and he goes from a character to someone who is mentioned a lot. Patrick flubs his age in a way that makes him seemingly ageless, even though we know that he died when he was 13. Which makes his relationship with Natalya a little weird, but who's really paying attention to that. 

Tsarina is driven by a love story between a doomed monarch and his lady love and the magical egg that's keeping him healthy and is also keeping his family in power. Patrick could have changed history in her novel, but instead she stays true to the facts and I'm so glad that she did. I mean, there was no magical egg, but most of the rest of hr story is drenched in history and you can tell that she really did her homework. 

In the end, I really enjoyed this book. I think it's fantastical and fun and if you take the weird egg out of the mix you have a really interesting historical fiction novel. It's a book about love and how that love changes and the crazy things that life throws at you. If you don't mind magical realism and you like Romanov Russia, read this one!

Rating:

4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!

[Review: Nameless by Lili St. Crow]

"Nameless"
Author: Lili St. Crow
Series: Tales of Beauty and Madness #1
Pages: 328
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling
Date Published: April 4th, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Format Read: Hardback from the library

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Summary:

When Camille was six years old, she was discovered alone in the snow by Enrico Vultusino, godfather of the Seven—the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven. Papa Vultusino adopted the mute, scarred child, naming her after his dead wife and raising her in luxury on Haven Hill alongside his own son, Nico.

Now Cami is turning sixteen. She’s no longer mute, though she keeps her faded scars hidden under her school uniform, and though she opens up only to her two best friends, Ruby and Ellie, and to Nico, who has become more than a brother to her. But even though Cami is a pampered Vultusino heiress, she knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until she meets the mysterious Tor, who reveals scars of his own, that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her birth…to find out where she comes from and why her past is threatening her now.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

Nameless was one of the most fresh and interesting retellings of a fairytale that I've read in a long time.  I'm a huge fan of the genre and so when I read a story that adds a sense of mystery to a story that I already know, forwards and backwards, I just wanna get my jazz hands out and do a little happy dance.  This book was like that for me.  

I think above all, my favorite thing about Nameless was Lili St. Crow's writing style.  She's very descriptive and also very loosely structured with her writing.  It makes for a very interesting and intriguing reading experience.  She pulls you into a world that is fully fleshed out and yet she keeps some of the details to herself.  Teasing you without giving you the whole picture, which she finally delivers while still staying true to her truly unique voice.  I know that I'll be picking up more of her books in the near future.

The world of New Haven is a well imagined one.  It's modern and yet without a question, it's riddled with magic.  Not the fluffy, sweet magic that many fairytales imply, but a darker, weirder magic that will leave you with an odd taste in your mouth.  Crow weaves vampire like creatures into the novel as well as creepy fairies and a large amount of other odd creatures.  Magic rules supreme in ways that I haven't seen it used.  It makes you pay attention to all the little things and I love that. 

Cami herself is a really interesting character.  I liked that she had strange personality traits.  She wasn't just the pretty, quite, docile Snow White archetype that we're all used to.  She had demons of her own.  Demons that were chasing her and not giving her any space.  Her stutter also made her stand out and her interactions with the other characters in the book gave her a lot of dimension.  To put it bluntly, I dug her as a character.

It was obvious that Ruby and Ellie were also created around other fairytale characters, which is awesome.  One is definitely Cinderella and the other Little Red.  (I'll let you figure out who is who...)  Sure there aren't any dwarfs and the seven are some old creepy dead dudes, but I liked that Nameless was a loose Snow White retelling.  It had it's nods to the old tale and yet the rest of the characters were new and creepy and dark.  We all know how much I love all things creepy and dark and this book rocked those things like they were nobodies business.  

I also thought that the love story had a lot going on.  Some people might be weirded out by the fact that Nico and Cami were technically raised as brother and sister, but there is no blood shared between them.  It made their dynamic fascinating to watch.  They had grown up together and grown into something more then just the siblings that they were raised as.  I know it probably sounds weird to anyone reading this review, but somehow Crow makes this work for the story.

And then she throws Tor into the mix.  I loved that Tor, Ellie and Ruby all had their large roles to play in the book.  They didn't have much focus on them, but when they did, all three of them really shone.  The other, smaller bit characters were also awesome to watch.  No detail or character was unneeded and in my book that's always a good thing!

So, if you're looking for a really dark and atmospheric Snow White retelling that gives you a new look into the classic tale, I highly suggest this one.  

Rating:

 4 Unicorns = Close To Perfect!