Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood. 356 p. G.P. Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers Group, November 7, 2023. 9780593619919. (Review of bound manuscript courtesy of publisher.)
Eighteen-year-old Mallory isn't going to college because she needs to pay her family's bills. When her bff begs her to play a charity chess tournament, Mal reluctantly says yes, because she's be left behind in a few weeks when Easton goes to college. She was a rising star in the chess world, but gave it up years earlier. She's slated to play against none other than chess wunderkind, Nolan Sawyer, aka Kingkiller and, she beats him! He wants to play again, but she's done with chess. Her win catches the eye of Defne, who offers her a fellowship to play chess. She declines. That is, until she loses her job as a mechanic. She lies to her mother about the fellowship, wanting to protect her, but when she begins winning and rockets up in the standings, her lies become more difficult to maintain. And then there's the possibility/ probability that she will have to play Nolan again.
This rom-com was fun-smart, snarky and slow-burn swoony. I adored Mallory's voice. I loved the chess as the center of the story and the fact that the author addresses the sexism that exists in the sport through Mallory, who doesn't suffer fools lightly. Some suspension of belief regarding her family remaining in the dark is required.
Chess is really popular among my students since the pandemic. They are always rushing through their work to get to the chess set in my library's lounge. There are a couple of girls who are really good. I was hoping I could add this book to our library's collection. While I loved it, it's a bit mature for most middle school readers, but highly recommended for high school collections and public libraries.
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