"A riveting story of a fight for justice." - Kirkus starred review
"More than a YA story about a chess club. It's an urgent call for collective action in a divided society." - C.T. Liotta, author of
No Good About Goodbye The rousing follow-up to the award-winning "YA masterpiece"
Pushing Pawns sees a wildly diverse high school chess team grappling with brutal cops, ruthless gentrification, and competition more ferocious than they've ever faced.
It's the worst day of Moses Middleton's life. Reeling from a crushing break-up, he joins his best buddy P.D. in New York City's Travers Park, where more bad news awaits: Their beloved chess tables are scheduled for demolition. Then a violent stop-and-frisk encounter with a pair of crooked cops leads to detention in the local precinct house.
And that's just the beginning of Moses' struggles. The superbly gifted Esther has left the team and kicked our hero to the curb. The chess club is a different beast this year, disrupted by new members and romantic complications. Under the demanding supervision of Soviet grandmaster Viktor Fleischmann, the team gropes for solidarity as it prepares for its greatest challenge to date: the National High School Chess Championship.
Meanwhile, enlisting old and new comrades in an effort to save the chess tables, and perhaps the whole neighborhood, Moses uncovers a conspiracy that reaches from cutthroat moneymen to sadistic police officers - and even to his own teammates.
Multiple crises are on the boil when a sudden act of shocking violence threatens to destroy the team and shatter their dreams.
Sinister forces are at work. Can the young comrades snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, over the board and on the streets?
KIRKUS starred review:
Novak's second novel in his YA series tells a tale of New York City's Travers Park-"the lungs, heart and soul of northern Queens."
The story of 15-year-old Moses "Mose" Middleton and public schoolQ722's chess club ensemble continues with newcomers adding interest and tension. Mose learns that his girlfriend Esther is overcommitted to extracurriculars and wants a break from their relationship. She's also taking a break from chess club, which leaves Mose feeling bereft. The following day, Mose and his friend P.D. Morales head to Travers Park to play chess; there, they find an "official-looking notice" stating that playing chess there is prohibited and that tables will soon be removed by the parks department. Wealthy parents had created a Facebook page to complain about a "criminal element" creating "'unsafe conditions" in the park; it's clear that the teens' beloved neighborhood is being co-opted by rich newcomers. The kids ignore the warning and climb over the barrier to play their game, but someone films them on their iPhone while "giving [them] the evil eye." The boys run off, but police track them down and take them into custody-an event that galvanizes members of the community to fight for the park. Novak uses the chess club as the foundation for a strong community, bonded by common causes: a struggle for their neighborhood, for their honor in an upcoming chess tournament in Philadelphia, and, at the most basic level, for their chess tables in Travers Park. The author effectively weaves in what Mose calls "choice nuggets of commie wisdom" through Viktor Fleischmann, the chess master; the words of Jane Austen through fans Esther and Mose; and generational wisdom throughout. Along the way, Novak authentically weaves discussions of Nuyorican culture, police brutality, gentrification, and diversity. Strong characters fight for what they believe in, learning life lessons along the way. Gen-Z slang is interspersed throughout and is integral to the story.
A riveting story of a fight for justice.
