Check mates - Stewart Foster

Check Mates - Stewart Foster

Felix Schopp has ADHD which means eh frequently gets into trouble at school - his mind constantly wanders and he finds concentrating difficult.  It's his mum who suggests he spends time with his granddad but, now that his grandma has died, he doesn't want to: all his granddad wants to do is watch German TV and play chess, neither of which appeal to Felix.  However, his granddad has his ways (don't they all?!) and Felix begins to realise that there's a lot more to chess than he first thought ... an awful lot more.

K's opinion

Felix is a complex character: he is missing his gran; he's desperate for attention from his parents; he's struggling to concentrate at school; he's embarrassed by his granddad and his pink car; all he wants is to fit in and not upset his friend, Jake ... in short, he's like most children at the beginning of secondary school.  I think a lot of readers will find they can relate to Felix in some way.

Chess is not something you generally see as a major theme in MG novels but I'm thrilled it's here in this book.  As a parent (and as a teacher), I've spent many hours on the side-lines of chess tournaments; I've enjoyed sharing the triumphs and have helped lessons to be learned from the defeats.  All of these things are shown within the book, as a re the many other benefits of chess and hopefully it will encourage a few more children to enjoy the game.

This is a heart-felt book about family, friendship and finding yourself.  It's about learning who you are, accepting that and appreciating everybody and their differences.

A great book from the first move until the check mate!

O's opinion:

As a lover of chess myself, I was thrilled when this book came through the front door, and WOW, I was not disappointed! From the very beginning, I was hooked in Felix's life, his friends and his granddad. When his granddad cunningly taught him to play chess, I laughed out loud at the way he did it!

Throughout the book, I loved how Felix would rush to his granddad's and play chess with him all night long, and then, further on, to tell him news of the school chess tournament... but I won't spoil the book for you, you'll have to read it yourself to find out what happens!

A great book from start to finish, I loved Felix, his granddad, and of course the pink car!

Many thanks to the team at Simon an Schuster for gifting us our early copy.