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A review by antlersantlers
Chess Rumble by G. Neri
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.