The Kings Are Already Here

by Freymann-Weyr, Garret

• ISBN13: 9780618263639
• ISBN10: 0618263632
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-22
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

Phebe Knight is training to become a ballerina. At fifteen, she has never once questioned that this is the life she wants. But now, one year away from joining the Company, her mind begins to wander. She decides to spend the summer with her father, who lives in Switzerland, in the hope that a change of scene will bring her focus back to the barre.Nikolai Kotalev is a sixteen-year-old chess champion who has been befriended by Phebes father. Nikolai is looking for the chess teacher he needs: the legendary Stas Vlajnik. Nikolais attention never wanders. He plays beautiful chess and wants to learn from Stas how to become a grandmaster capable of both grace and speed.Phebe, who knows what it means to follow ones obsessions, organizes a search to help Nikolai find the elusive Stas. They travel across Europe with Phebes father and his girlfriend, hunting for Stas in all the places where chesss elegant patterns live. Phebe and Nikolai study each others obsessions to find the lives they want.The Kings Are Already Here explores the limits of what one is willing to pay for perfection and beauty.

Author Biography

Garret Freymann-Weyr grew up in New York City and often sets her books there. She went to college at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and received an MFA in film from New York University. She has written four books for young adults, including My Heartbeat, which won a Printz Honor for excellence in literature for young adults. Her books have been published in numerous countries including the Netherlands, Japan, and China. She currently lives outside Washington, D. C., with her husband. She has said that the best way to get ideas is to read a lot. “That gets you thinking in terms of story, character, and image.