Chess not Checkers is a teen novel with adult adventures and situations. The novel's thrills happen in both urban and rural environments. A twenty-year-old, Thaddeus Adams, is looking back to when he was a self-described "nerd" who stood up to a brutal bully. Earl Jacobson is gang affiliated and heartless, and he adds layers of difficulties to Thaddeus' life that no teen should have to endure. The challenges require Thaddeus' strategic planning which...