Chopsticks

Prominent book designer Corral and adult author Anthony (The Convalescent) chronicle the descent of a teenage piano prodigy, telling her story completely through photographs, IM conversations, news clippings, and artwork. Seventeen-year-old Glory Fleming has been playing piano since age seven, but something happened to her mother sometime after Glory’s first recital (Glory and her father’s “Merry Christmas 2000” holiday card, seen in a scrapbook, offers thanks “for your support during this difficult year”). Years later, Glory’s star is on the rise—ads and brochures show her playing major venues worldwide—but there are also signs that she’s cracking under the pressure, including her growing obsession with the waltz “Chopsticks.” When an Argentinean boy, Frank Mendoza, moves in next door, a passionate romance ignites. That’s how it looks, anyway; small visual details slowly allow another narrative to develop. Unreliable narrators are a staple of literature, yet seeing deceits and red herrings laid bare in photographs and documents, rather than reading about them, makes the book’s punches hit hard. An electronic version of the book, with audio and video, will be available simultaneously. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sterling Lord Literistic. (Feb.)