2.5 Stars and a Bummer
I just cannot get on board with YA that’s most definitely not YA. I get it, they are 18 and 20, but that’s were the YA ends. I would never recommend this book or hand it to any young adult in my life.
So, the positives. The chess aspect was top notch. It was unique, fresh, and a fun addition to the story. I learned a lot and that area kept me very engaged. We need more chess in books.
The negatives, were most everything else. Mallory was the most annoying FMC. She had a lot of responsibility but didn’t handle anything well. She lied, she was the source of all
miscommunication, and I couldn’t root for her.
She didn’t grow, which I feel like is the point of YA. To navigate, struggle, and get stronger at this whole life thing. But she just seemed to do nothing and think she was right. I loved seeing her get called out, but I felt like it still glorified her bad behavior.
I liked Nolan a lot and would have loved more of him and less of Mallory.
Overall, I just think this author won’t be for me and I wouldn’t want to hand this to anyone in my life as coming-of-age novel.
I just cannot get on board with YA that’s most definitely not YA. I get it, they are 18 and 20, but that’s were the YA ends. I would never recommend this book or hand it to any young adult in my life.
So, the positives. The chess aspect was top notch. It was unique, fresh, and a fun addition to the story. I learned a lot and that area kept me very engaged. We need more chess in books.
The negatives, were most everything else. Mallory was the most annoying FMC. She had a lot of responsibility but didn’t handle anything well. She lied, she was the source of all
miscommunication, and I couldn’t root for her.
She didn’t grow, which I feel like is the point of YA. To navigate, struggle, and get stronger at this whole life thing. But she just seemed to do nothing and think she was right. I loved seeing her get called out, but I felt like it still glorified her bad behavior.
I liked Nolan a lot and would have loved more of him and less of Mallory.
Overall, I just think this author won’t be for me and I wouldn’t want to hand this to anyone in my life as coming-of-age novel.