#120 in Young adult
Check & Mate
- 369
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
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About the book
In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart. Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist.... As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.8 across 395 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 68% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Young adult average of 7.8. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.7 | 6 | 2% |
| Hardcover | 7.8 | 389 | 99% |
Frequently asked
What is Check & Mate rated?
7.8 out of 10, from 395 reader ratings across 2 independent sources.
Is Check & Mate worth reading?
Readers give it 7.8/10 from 395 ratings, which puts it ahead of 40 % of the Young adult shelf.
How long does it take to read Check & Mate?
About 7 hours at an average reading pace — 369 pages.
Where does Check & Mate rank?
#120 in Young adult on the current snapshot.
What age is Check & Mate for?
Check & Mate sits on the Young adult shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 13 and up. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 369 pages — longer than 50% of the ranked books in Young adult.
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The same shelf — Young adult — and a score of 7.8, the closest to this book.
