Cover of Check & Mate

Check & Mate

by Ali Hazelwood

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Assigned across 1 curriculum list · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania)

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood is assigned in US schools at grades 9–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Check & Mate is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 9–12
Age range
Ages 14–17
Pages
368
Reading time
about 6h 45m (est.)
First published
2023
Genre
Realistic Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593698440

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook

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About this book

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory's focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious "Kingkiller" Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess. Nolan's loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What's even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Check & Mate→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Realistic Fiction title, typically at grades 9–12. Written in the 2020s; pairs with curriculum units on new york times bestseller and romance; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Themes

new york times bestseller · romance · contemporary

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Check & Mate?
Check & Mate is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–12. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read Check & Mate?
It takes about 6h 45m to read Check & Mate (368 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 405 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Check & Mate?
Check & Mate appears on reading lists for Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Check & Mate banned in schools?
Check & Mate does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
What themes does Check & Mate explore?
Central themes in Check & Mate include new york times bestseller, romance, contemporary. These themes match how the book is discussed in most curriculum guides and AP Literature prompts.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 9–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: book-club.

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