What books are similar to Check & Mate?

The 10 closest matches to Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood on ReadingList include The Sun is Also a Star, The Inheritance Games, Five Survive, Twilight, and Room. Each is scored on shared themes (new york times bestseller, romance, and contemporary), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like Check & Mate reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like Check & Mate

If you liked Check & Mate, read The Sun is Also a Star, The Inheritance Games, or Five Survive — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon — shares romance

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Looking for books like Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood (Realistic Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of new york times bestseller, romance, and contemporary. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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The Sun is Also a Stargrades 9–12: Shares themes of romance, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
The Inheritance Gamesgrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Five Survivegrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Twilightgrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Roomgrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boygrades 9–12: Shares themes of romance and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Loregrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Today Tonight Tomorrowgrades 9–12: Shares themes of romance and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Cindergrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The House in the Cerulean Seagrades 9–12: Shares themes of new york times bestseller and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Check & Mate for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton · grades K–3 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Except Antarctica! by Todd Sturgell · grades K–3 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" by David LaRochelle · grades K–3 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
The Yawns Are Coming by Christopher Eliopoulos · grades K–3 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller.

Books like Check & Mate for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton · grades K–3 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller, both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list.
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes · grades 5–8 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Except Antarctica! by Todd Sturgell · grades K–3 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).

Books like Check & Mate for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list.
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list.
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of new york times bestseller and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes · grades 5–8 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).
Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez · grades 4–6 — Both on the Mountain Laurel Book Award (Pennsylvania) list, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and the same era (2020s).

Common questions

What books are similar to Check & Mate?: The 10 closest matches to Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood on ReadingList include The Sun is Also a Star, The Inheritance Games, Five Survive, Twilight, and Room. Each is scored on shared themes (new york times bestseller, romance, and contemporary), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Check & Mate reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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