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A review by elasmobranch
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Did not finish book. Stopped at 43%.
Hazelwood made chess dull — the fun romp behind the scenes of an unfamiliar sport and culture didn’t materialize. I don’t believe she knows this world. I couldn’t imagine spending a life memorizing game play when the stated genius of the characters could be applied to more interesting pursuits.
Our protagonist isn’t pursuing any of those golden futures, despite having sworn off chess forever. She’s passing on a full ride to college to work a minimum wage, under-the-table job, because you see her father’s absence and family’s troubles are all her fault. It was all because of the chess.
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this won’t turn out to be true and our protagonist will learn a lesson about life. Children are not responsible for their parents’ relationship struggles or acts of fate. An eight year old might believe this; it was stretching credulity for 18. It’s inconceivable that her crap wages would put a dent in the finances of her upper middle class NYC area family home but she seems to be mostly paying for her sisters’ incidentals.
The part where she imagines herself the stand-in mom for her disabled mother was also uncomfortable.
She loses the shit mechanic job for being too ethical (who knew formal education is required to repair brake lines? So unfair!) and accidentally wins a chess competition against a super amazing hot (but dark! And brooding!) golden boy of the chess world and so is in no position to refuse a fellowship playing chess with a great salary. What a hardship. Don’t worry, our protagonist is not a dowdy or socially awkward chess stereotype she’s beautiful, thin and quirky.
Obviously, this contrivance is all for Romance Reasons which would be fine if I liked the characters. For romance, likeable characters is a requirement.
I have some qualms about bashing this novel for being packed with YA tropes that I don’t enjoy. It could be a good fit for its target audience. I didn’t like it DNF.
Our protagonist isn’t pursuing any of those golden futures, despite having sworn off chess forever. She’s passing on a full ride to college to work a minimum wage, under-the-table job, because you see her father’s absence and family’s troubles are all her fault. It was all because of the chess.
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this won’t turn out to be true and our protagonist will learn a lesson about life. Children are not responsible for their parents’ relationship struggles or acts of fate. An eight year old might believe this; it was stretching credulity for 18. It’s inconceivable that her crap wages would put a dent in the finances of her upper middle class NYC area family home but she seems to be mostly paying for her sisters’ incidentals.
The part where she imagines herself the stand-in mom for her disabled mother was also uncomfortable.
She loses the shit mechanic job for being too ethical (who knew formal education is required to repair brake lines? So unfair!) and accidentally wins a chess competition against a super amazing hot (but dark! And brooding!) golden boy of the chess world and so is in no position to refuse a fellowship playing chess with a great salary. What a hardship. Don’t worry, our protagonist is not a dowdy or socially awkward chess stereotype she’s beautiful, thin and quirky.
Obviously, this contrivance is all for Romance Reasons which would be fine if I liked the characters. For romance, likeable characters is a requirement.
I have some qualms about bashing this novel for being packed with YA tropes that I don’t enjoy. It could be a good fit for its target audience. I didn’t like it DNF.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism