A very good story well worth reading. Given the chance to involving herself in something outside surviving, Phiona Mutesi who had only known life in the slum of Katwe outside Kampala joins a group to play chess and proves that she has, along with her brothers, real talent and perseverance in playing chess. Against all odds she pushes herself to be come an excellent player and begins to extract herself from the slums.

I'm going to steal from A.O. Scott's review of the movie (I have yet to see):

“Irresistible” is one of those adjectives that critics should handle with utmost care. No matter how universally charming or winning a movie or a performance might seem to be, there is always a chance that somebody, somewhere, will be able to resist it. For all I know that may be the case with “Queen of Katwe,” but if there is anyone out there capable of remaining unmoved by this true-life triumph-of-the-underdog sports story, I don’t think I want to meet that person.


This is a terrific story - inspiring and amazing. ( )

I was very engrossed by the stories told in this book. At first I was a bit confused by all the different people and their back stories but it helped me to see how universal poverty and despair are in the slums of Katwe and how unbelievable it seems to try and do anything besides daily survival. I think that it is a wonderful illustration of how one person can affect another who helps someone else and eventually many people are given tools to help many others. Maybe some of the complaints I've read in other reviews of this book come because it is not a neatly tied up ending, but that's because this book is more like a prequel or even a prologue for the potential to come. The events in this book are still playing out. ( )

Very interesting to see the living conditions and culture in Africa. ( )

The story of Phionia Mutesi is absolutely as astonishing and incredible as the blurbs on the cover promise. The first 9 chapters of this book were difficult to put down. I needed to learn how this young woman managed to master such a difficult game.

But the last 2 chapters were unfortunately a bit tedious, explaining what we already knew by then -- that this girl faced immensely difficult hurdles, and that she dreamed of continuing her journey, despite those hurdles. The contents of these chapters would have been better sprinkled through the others. ( )