Chess Rumble by G. Neri, Illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson
Chess Rumble by G. Neri and illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson is one of those books that I hope people don’t judge based on the cover. I don’t think it’s the best representation of the book. It’s a book that I would have walked by without a second glance. But then of course, I’m a thirty-year-old middle class white mother of two living in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. Obviously, this cover is trying to catch the attention of inner-city young and teen boys. Do you think it works? Doesn’t work? Would love to know what you think.
Marcus is having a hard time both at home and in school. Since the death of his sister, his father has moved out of the house and his mother is having a hard time just keeping it together. Marcus has begun to fight at school and is headed down a road that will get him kicked out of school and his house and one that will be difficult to travel back from.
While at the park, he is challenged to a game of chess from C.M., a nickname that stands for Chess Man, Check Mate and Chess Master. It is through their games together that Marcus begins to learn how to keep his own emotions in check and to always be looking at least three moves ahead – both on the chess board and in real life.
The dust jacket says, “Inspired by inner-city school chess enrichment programs, Chess Rumble explores the ways this strategic game empowers young people with the skills they need to anticipate and calculate their moves through life.” This is a statement that I would completley agree with. I do also agree with Ms. Yingling’s statement that the size and format (including page stock) of the book borders too closely of a picture book. I just can’t see a teenage boy feeling cool touting this book around, if you know what I mean.
Chess Rumble is also told in verse, a format which I always enjoy. Overall, I liked Chess Rumble and found it well worth the read. I just wonder if the same could be said of its intended audience.
Book trailer:
Links of interest: G. Neri website, follow on Twitter, more book blogger reviews,
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction, approx age 9-12.
Publisher: Lee and Low Books. November 8, 2007
Hardcover, 64 pages. ISBN 1584302798
Chess Rumble is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
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Category: Book Reviews, Fiction, Middle Readers
Tags: book club, book trailers, children's literature book club selection, E-H Title, free verse, reluctant readers, U-Z Author, videos
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It’s an eye catching cover but I agree it clearly seeks to attract a narrow target market. That said, I think it’s strong and interesting. If it reflects the content of the book then I’d say it does a good job. I’m very aware of covers right now as my publisher has just selected the design for Road Closed, the second in my series of crime thrillers. I posted the design for Cut Short, the first in my series, on my blog and received lots of helpful comments. I’ll do the same with the cover of Road Closed soon, to see what readers think. It’s quite scary!
on October 7th, 2009 at 2:33 pmInteresting…but I’m not sure inner city kids are going to “get” the cover art. I think they may just find it humorous, but what do I know I’m pretty much in your same position. It’s amazing the power of a good cover, truly it can make a book either take front and center or sit on the shelves for years before someone recognizes it’s brilliance.
on October 7th, 2009 at 4:05 pmI don’t much like the presentation of CHESS RUMBLE. I did enjoy G. Neri’s SURF MULES, and while I’m not sure I’d've picked it up on my own, the design more clearly appeals to teen boys.
on October 7th, 2009 at 6:57 pmHuh. Several middle class white ladies talking about how they don’t much like the presentation of a book clearly not intended for them. Sounds ok to me.
However for the target audience, the author and I have seen tons of kids respond in just the way we had hoped.
on October 7th, 2009 at 7:29 pmJesse – I’m thrilled that you have seen a great response with the book. Although, I personally do feel like the cover wasn’t a great representation of the book, I did like the inside illustrations and you are very talented. As I stated in my review, it’s obvious that I’m not the target audience and was honestly wondering what the response was. I read this book for my book club – all middle class white ladies! Everybody really liked it. One is a middle school reading resource teacher who loved it (she picked it for book club) and is adding the book to her recommended reading book list, another a city librarian who enjoyed it as well. It’s women like these that are discussing the book and how to get it into the hands of the intended audience and wondering how they’d respond.
on October 7th, 2009 at 7:55 pmWow, Jesse… sounds bitter to me. How can you possibly know those commenting are “middle class white ladies?” And, black, white, middle, upper or lower, why is their opinion somehow unworthy. Covers can be critical to a book’s success, and often less can be more. Only time will tell if this cover actually makes enough readers “respond just the way” you hoped. Critique is subjective. Try not to take it so personal.
on October 7th, 2009 at 7:55 pmNot having read the book myself, the cover seems reasonably appropriate and likely to attract the kinds of readers that the book is targetting.
From your description, I think the format (similar to picture book) and writing style (verse) would perhaps be more likely to alienate the intended readership. My 10 year old son is an enthusiastic and advanced reader, but he recently put aside a fantastic book after only a few pages because he didn’t enjoy the verse format. My daughter loved the book.
on October 7th, 2009 at 7:58 pmI kind of like the cover. I asked my Black boyfriend and he said he would have picked it up as a middleschool-ish aged kid. LOL Thank goodness I had a Black dude around. Us middle ages white ladies have NO IDEA!!
on October 7th, 2009 at 9:20 pmThanks, Natasha! The element I had thought was a tad iffy on the cover was the text treatment. I may have gone much more graffiti style, but the publisher thought that being hard to read would alienate some of the non-urban readers. Hard to tell.
Ellen, I was not bitter nor making judgements on the commenters as you suggested. Critique it fine. I was just clarifying what Natasha said in her post, that this book was not intended to get them to pick it up, but rather urban boys who may not be very into reading. And they said they were middle class white ladies in the post and the comment above, so I was basing it simply on that info. Not trying to stir up a race or class war. Lol.
on October 8th, 2009 at 12:58 pmNatasha!!! I’m excited that to see this review, I know I am little late on the party, but since I was the one who picked it for book club I thought I would chime in.
Technically I am a Reading Coach – meaning I specialize in working with struggling readers and work with teachers across all subjects include reading resource teachers to use reading and support reading in their classrooms. It’s a newer breed of educator and a job I love.
Anyway, I am actually not sure how many teen aged boys in general would be seen walking around with a book except for the book worm type, but this book really hit home to me (as a white middle class woman who has worked with a lot of minority students) and I thought of several students in the past and present who might benefit from and enjoy a book like this.
We have it on our list of books to buy this year for our reading program and I have given the title to our school psychologist because he is looking for books like this – that talk about hard life issues in a way that can reach kids. I don’t think he has had a chance to read it, and he may be a little skeptical because of the chess part, but I think once he gives it a chance he will like it.
on October 13th, 2009 at 8:30 pm