Queen of Katwe Book Review

Queen of Katwe Book Review

*I received a complimentary book via BuzzPlant in order to facilitate this review. Regardless all opinions are 100% my own. 

Back in July while on a press trip for Disney I was able to watch Queen of Katwe and I cried, a lot. But that is a story for another post, so when I had the opportunity to read the Queen of Katwe Book I knew I was in trouble. From the first few paragraphs I knew I was hooked and that the makers of Disney done a great job at sticking with the book in some ways. 

Phiona Mutesi is arguably one of the best chess players on earth. At 11 she was her country’s junior champion, at 15 a national champion. Soon after she traveled to Russia to participate in the Chess Olympiad, the most prestigious event in the Chess world. Only in her teens, she sat across the board from experts several years older, yet she played with an intensity and instinct that had more experience players struggling to keep the upper hand – and not always succeeding.

But what is most inspiring about Phiona’s story is that she didn’t have the best coaches, education or even best backing as her other competitors. She literally had the deck stacked against her in more than one way and to succeed at a game like Chess you have to be determined. Which is one of the reasons that I cheered for her throughout the movie and book. Even though all of the odds were stacked against her, she succeeded and sometimes all you have to do is have a dream to make it. 

This story is a real-life hero and role model that needs to be shared with children, teens and adults. We need to remember that even though the odds may be stacked against us, overcoming our challenges is what makes a Grand Master in both life and chess.

A Pawn no more summarizes Phiona Mutesi’s journey.