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beths0103's review against another edition
4.0
Not quite a picture book yet not quite long enough to be considered a novel in verse, Chess Rumble is a unique story that will appeal to reluctant and voracious readers alike.
kandicez's review
3.0
I checked this out of the library expecting a comic. It WAS shelved with the comics and graphic novels after all. That's not what I got. It's illustrated, and there's an ongoing narrative, but I think it's a poem. The naration appeared in verse, anyway, and I found that distracting. Not rhyme, just verse, in columns on the pages.
Anyone could see where this was going. A young man, living in a bad neighborhood, loses a sister and his father in very quick succesion. He becomes a discipline problem, and because of his large size, a physical threat. He can't control the anger that sparks his temper and seems to have a first class ticket to juvenile hall. Chess saves him.
As predictable as it was, G. Neri got the dialogue exatly right. I just read [b:On Writing|10569|On Writing|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254200s/10569.jpg|150292] by Stephen King, and he says portraying real speech, let alone dialects, accents and colloquialisms is very, very hard. Neri did that perfectly here. I could actually hear the words being said. Maybe not the voices, but the words were written the way they would sound, not the way they would appear courtesy of spell-check. The slang was understandable, but helped to create my idea of just who this kid was.
Jesse Watson's illustrations were beautiful. Mostly black and white, elaborate shading and a tiny touch of color where black and white just weren't quite enough. The characters were brought to life, and his drawings of chess pieces were beautiful, even if they were only the plastc $5.99 starter sets.
Anyone could see where this was going. A young man, living in a bad neighborhood, loses a sister and his father in very quick succesion. He becomes a discipline problem, and because of his large size, a physical threat. He can't control the anger that sparks his temper and seems to have a first class ticket to juvenile hall. Chess saves him.
As predictable as it was, G. Neri got the dialogue exatly right. I just read [b:On Writing|10569|On Writing|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254200s/10569.jpg|150292] by Stephen King, and he says portraying real speech, let alone dialects, accents and colloquialisms is very, very hard. Neri did that perfectly here. I could actually hear the words being said. Maybe not the voices, but the words were written the way they would sound, not the way they would appear courtesy of spell-check. The slang was understandable, but helped to create my idea of just who this kid was.
Jesse Watson's illustrations were beautiful. Mostly black and white, elaborate shading and a tiny touch of color where black and white just weren't quite enough. The characters were brought to life, and his drawings of chess pieces were beautiful, even if they were only the plastc $5.99 starter sets.
amwright's review
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
antlersantlers's review
5.0
Chess Rumble is the story of Marcus, a young kid having trouble controlling his anger in the face of what seems like unending problems. His little twin brothers keep causing trouble for him, his principal has it out for him, his former friend Latrell keeps pushing his buttons trying to rile him up. He's got nowhere for that anger and frustration to go except into fighting. One day instead of sending him to detention (for the thousandth time), the principal sends him to the library to play chess with CM. It takes a while for him to warm to the game, and it certainly doesn't happen magically in one school session, but eventually the game helps give him some perspective.
Since the novella is in free-form verse, the prose is sparse but packs a huge emotional punch. Neri perfectly captures that terse pre-teen angst where you have so many feelings but nowhere for them to go and not nearly enough words for them. There's so much hurt and defiance and anger and frustration and fear, and Neri gets to the heart of that so quickly and easily. The book is also beautifully and boldly illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, so it is really eye-catching for readers who might not be immediately sold on the poetry.
This book popped onto my radar because of an amazing article in School Library Journal: The Author, the Librarian, and the Poet. The piece is like a perfect encapsulation of [b:Igniting a Passion for Reading|6798354|Igniting a Passion for Reading Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers|Steven L. Layne|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328750705s/6798354.jpg|7004029]! I read [b:Yummy|3239487|Yummy The Last Days of a Southside Shorty|G. Neri|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1274496810s/3239487.jpg|3274157] a few years ago and it has really stuck with me; I expect this book will be the same. This was the first of his fiction books I've read, but I definitely plan to read more. And I will definitely recommend this book to kids.
Since the novella is in free-form verse, the prose is sparse but packs a huge emotional punch. Neri perfectly captures that terse pre-teen angst where you have so many feelings but nowhere for them to go and not nearly enough words for them. There's so much hurt and defiance and anger and frustration and fear, and Neri gets to the heart of that so quickly and easily. The book is also beautifully and boldly illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, so it is really eye-catching for readers who might not be immediately sold on the poetry.
This book popped onto my radar because of an amazing article in School Library Journal: The Author, the Librarian, and the Poet. The piece is like a perfect encapsulation of [b:Igniting a Passion for Reading|6798354|Igniting a Passion for Reading Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers|Steven L. Layne|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328750705s/6798354.jpg|7004029]! I read [b:Yummy|3239487|Yummy The Last Days of a Southside Shorty|G. Neri|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1274496810s/3239487.jpg|3274157] a few years ago and it has really stuck with me; I expect this book will be the same. This was the first of his fiction books I've read, but I definitely plan to read more. And I will definitely recommend this book to kids.
audreylee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leahxchan's review against another edition
5.0
Was great reading this to the kids and teaching them about coping mechanisms, handling emotions, dealing with personal relationships, conflict resolution, etc.
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