The Kings Are Already Here

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review of this novel about two accomplished teenagers-one a ballet dancer, the other a chess prodigy-PW wrote, "As in her My Heartbeat, the author creates charming, intellectual characters, and the issues with which her protagonists struggle are complex and cerebral." Ages 14-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

KLIATT

Freymann-Wehr is part of a new generation of writers for YAs and her first books, My Heartbeat and When I was Older, have received a lot of praise. The Kings are Already Here continues her writing about highly intelligent adolescents who are struggling to find their places within their families and in their world. There are two narrators, one a gifted American ballet dancer (Phebe), one a gifted Russian chess player (Nikolai). The two meet in Geneva, Switzerland during a time when both are considering their futures. (The author spent time in Geneva as she grew up, visiting her grandfather who was the director of the International Rescue Committee—Phebe's father Clarence in the novel is a career diplomat in such an organization.) All right, we've established that these characters aren't exactly the boy and girl next door. Phebe, who has been completely immersed in ballet studies for years, has for some unknown reason wavered in her focus just as she is reaching for a professional career in dance. Her parents suggest that she take a break from the ballet academy and live in Geneva for the summer with her father to try to understand what she wants to do next. When Phebe meets Nikolai, a young Russian chess prodigy her father is trying to help, she understands that he is immersed in the beauty of chess just as she has been consumed by ballet. In helping him understand his ambition, her own ambition becomes clearer to her. The ambition of course involves intense competition and complete focus. It means that Phebe will only have ballet in her life; it means there is no room for other interests; she wonders if this is what she wants. Nothing about a Freymann-Weyr story is easy. There areconcepts here that are challenging for any reader—the intricacies of the chess game especially. She says she studied to prepare for this novel, "indebted to a variety of books on both chess and ballet." It is wonderful that YA readers are treated with such respect by Freymann-Weyr, who understands many will be fascinated by the sophistication of Phebe's search for what is most important in her life. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Houghton Mifflin, 149p.,
— Claire Rosser

VOYA

Fifteen-year-old Phebe is conscious of little beyond the perfect movements of her feet as she trains to become a prima ballerina at the Academy in Manhattan. Lately her concentration has faded, however, threatening her status as lead girl. While she ponders the impact for her life as a dancer, she goes to stay with her father, a diplomat living in Geneva. While there, she meets sixteen-year-old Nikolai, a championship chess player who has recently left his controlling father-manager. Neither teen has much room in his or her lives for friends, because they both have been obsessed by their respective vocations. Their tentative friendship reveals to each the beauty both of other disciplines and of human relationships. As in her earlier books, When I Was Older (Houghton Mifflin, 2000/VOYA October 2000) and My Heartbeat (2002/VOYA April 2002), Freymann-Weyr creates teenagers who are sophisticated beyond their years. They travel throughout Europe, interacting smoothly with adults and voicing philosophical insights with assurance. Yet the characters of Phebe and Nikolai are sketchy, hard to care about. The narration alternates between the two, but neither has a distinctive voice, leaving the reader to rely on contextual cues for a sense of narrative perspective. Although both teens would presumably be passionate about their art, they tell their stories with a disjointed detachment. This book might please some aspiring ballerinas and chess masters with an inside look at high-level competition, but it falters as an engaging presentation of two gifted teens in pursuit of heart space. VOYA Codes: 3Q 3P J S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Houghton-Mifflin, 160p,
— Diane Masla

Children's Literature

At the age of fifteen, Phebe dances so well, she is only a year away from being invited to join her academy's ballet company. Lately, however, she is having trouble concentrating, as other thoughts disrupt her normally unswerving focus on ballet. The head of the academy agrees with Phebe's mother that Phebe might benefit from spending the summer with her father in Switzerland. There she meets sixteen-year-old Nikolai, a chess champion on his way to becoming a grandmaster. Nikolai is searching for the chess teacher, Vlajnik, whom Nikolai believes he needs in order to play not only successfully, but also beautifully, using chess moves based on patterns and grace. At first, Phebe and Nikolai have difficulty understanding each other's passion, although both can relate to the familiar pull of obsession. Along with her father, Phebe and Nikolai travel across Europe in search of the elusive Vlajnik. Their journey provides both teenagers the opportunity to re-evaluate the purpose and cost of pursuing an obsession. Author Freymann-Weyr does an outstanding job of meshing two highly rule-dominated and discipline-bound vocations into a well written, absorbing story. 2003, Houghton Mifflin,
— Linda Ruble

From The Critics

Phebe, a ballet dancer, and Nikolai, a chess player, are searching for their futures. Each is talented and at the defining moment of their lives. Phebe must make a decision about dancing when she seems to have lost the passion. Nikolai is looking for Stass, a master chess player, to help him move beyond his current skill level. Both meet through Phebe's father, a diplomat in Switzerland. Phebe spends the summer to reflect on her dancing, and Nikolai has been taken in because his father has disappeared. Nikolai is not interested in becoming world champion, but he wants to play chess beautifully. Phebe has only been taught to crave the spotlight, not to dance for the sake of dancing well, and thus the differences make it difficult for them to become friends. The book moves back and forth between the two characters' stories, but it is easy to follow. As each character is drawn into the other's problem, they find friendship and a way to move on with their lives, neither finding what they originally thought they required. 2003, Houghton Mifflin Co, 149 pp., Ages young adult.
—Freida Golden

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-When Phebe, 15, begins to question her single-minded pursuit of becoming a ballerina, she decides to visit her father in Switzerland. Instead of being a trip to refocus her energy on dance, it evolves into a journey to define herself and her goals. In Geneva, she meets Nikolai Kotalev, an equally dedicated and determined teen whose passion is chess. Her father and his girlfriend have taken the young man under their protective wing and are encouraging his desire to be grandmaster. However, in Nikolai's mind, the only way for him to improve is to be taught by the legendary grandmaster, Stas Vlajnik. Thus the four begin a trek across Europe to various exhibitions and tournaments to find the elusive Vlajnik. This is a beautifully written book about two young people who, until now, have never questioned their chosen careers. More than just a physical journey, the story also follows the spiritual odyssey that both characters undertake. It allows Phebe to grow and change, and it cements Nikolai's devotion to chess. The book also emphasizes the price one must pay for such obsessions. An entertaining read for all young adults, but especially for those seeking answers to life's complex questions.-Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

An intense, contrapuntal novel of exquisite intelligence and sensitivity. While Phebe knows ballet to the marrow, she's also aware that she cannot dance "and think of other things." She leaves her adored journalist mother to live in Geneva for the summer with her father, a retired diplomat. He has taken charge of a young chess player, Kolya, who has freed himself from his own abusive father in the hope of finding the mysterious grandmaster Stas. Kolya and Phebe recognize that the patterns of chess and ballet have left similar imprints on their souls, in what matters to them, and in how they make choices. The first-person narrative shifts from Phebe to Kolya: Phebe understands her body but not the world; Kolya represses attachment and emotion deliberately lest it get in the way of a beautiful game. Freymann-Weyr's language is as precise as a blade: Phebe and Kolya's decisions about their future make a quiet and satisfying resolution to this profoundly stirring work. (Fiction. YA)