Queen Move, the third book in Kennedy Ryan’s spicy and triumphant All The Kings Men series, has some stunning through-lines you’ll want to tab and follow throughout the whole book. They are an annotater’s dream!
For this post, I picked my top-three, most-fun topics to annotate in this book:
- The Drought (spice-related metaphor)
- The Napkin (symbolism about goals)
- Chess Strategy (related to the title)
Spoiler Note
The annotating guides below include quotes and light context. Venture carefully if you haven’t read the book yet because there are spoilers!
Tabbing the Drought
What you’ll need: 6 tabs and a highlighter
About: The list below showcases the funny, spice-related thread about droughts that Kennedy Ryan weaves strategically throughout the book. The list includes page numbers I tabbed and the main quotes I underlined and highlighted on those. pages.
TAB 1: Ezra Experiences Drought TMI
Chapter 17
p 159
“Sorry, nosy. She texted me to say she was coming and I called her to scream about it. We got to talking. Turns out we’re both in a drought.”
“Drought?”
“Dick drought. She’s running through batteries fast as I am.”
TABS 2-4: The Sprinkler Kiss
Ch 28
p 233
“Damn sprinklers”
p 236
Just when I think I’ll combust, cold water sprays my face and back and arms.
“What the…?” I look up to the sky, expecting rain.
“It’s your sprinklers,” Kimba says, sounding horrified and wriggling to get out of my arms.
p 237
Also, I was wrong. This sprinkler system? Perfect timing.
TAB 5: Drought-Ending Spice
Ch 29
I tabbed the first page of this chapter and made a margin note because this whole chapter is end of the drought!
TAB 6: Another Drought Ends
Ch 49
p 379
“I love you,” I whisper, watching his long lashes fall, his eyes close as he absorbs the words, allows them to water the dry places I recognize because I’ve been dry without him, too. I’ve been lonely. I’ve been, at times, uncertain how this would work, how it would end. And now—love, relief, reunion.
Note: I love how this last quote evokes the drought and sprinkler imagery again because the 3rd-act breakup causes a second drought, ending only when Ezra and Kimba reunite.
Tabbing the Napkin
What you’ll need: 4 Tabs and Highlighter
About: Ezra has a special relationship with Kimba’s dad, Mr. Allen, who was his mentor. The napkin is a trademark of Mr. Allen’s advice: He encourages everyone to define their dreams with so much precision that their dreams could be written on single paper napkin.
TAB 1: Kimba and Ezra Reminisce
Chapter 15
p 139-140
“He used to say your mission starts with people.” Kimba brushes the gold ring on her thumb. “And your passions should fit on a napkin.”
“Yup. He asked me about the kinds of students I wanted to help, and he jotted it down on a napkin while I talked.”
TAB 2: The Napkin in Ezra’s Imagination
Chapter 19
p 182
“And there’s a napkin in my head with Kimba’s name scribbled all over it.”
TAB 3-4: Napkin Thrown, Then Revelations About Mr. Allen
Chapter 35
p 284
Note: In this scene, a physical napkin and big news about Kimba’s dad collide, challenging the way Kimba and Ezra view Mr. Allen’s legacy.
“You know I got you, Jack.”
She tosses a napkin that bounces off his face. When we were in school, I was the thing they had in common, but now they obviously have their own relationship and she truly is part of his family.
p 285
Tab the last line of the chapter.
TAB 5: The Napkin Comes Full Circle
Epilogue
p 390
“The memory of Joseph Allen, a giant in this city, taking time to talk for hours with me that day, furiously scribbling my dreams on a napkin as our coffee grew cold, is vivid in my mind. I unpacked my heart to him that day, and there’s no way he could have seen what lay in my heart without seeing his daughter Tru.”
Tabbing Chess Strategy
What you’ll need: 11 tabs and a highlighter
About: Ezra and his son love to play chess, and Ezra used to play against Kimba’s dad, Mr. Allen. Through Ezra, chess theory gets shared, like how The Queen is a powerful game piece.
Tab 1: Playing with Mr. Allen
Prologue
p 19
You beat daddy at chess?
Tab 2: Playing with Kimba
Chapter 2
p 39
What about Chess?
Tab 3-4: Playing with Kimba – 2
Ch 18
p 163
Chess? I should have known. This is Ezra’s child after all.
p 164
The queen is the most powerful piece.
Tab 5: Discussing Fatherhood
Ch 19
p 179
Only at chess, I say chuckling
Tab 6: Kimba’s Lineage
Ch 21
p 192
You descend from queens.
Tab 7: Ezra Relates Kimba to The Queen
Ch 22
p 202
“I know, but this is just like chess. You are the most powerful piece on this board. All the power is in your hands.”
Tab 8: Chess Analogy
Ch 26
p 223
And if this was a game of chess, this would not be my move.
Tab 9: The Title!
Ch 33
p 271
It’s a queen move.
Tab 10: Kimba, The Queen
Ch 46
p 347
“Kimba sits on one of the cream-colored sofas and gestures to a seat across from her, a queen holding court.”
Tab 11: Epigraph Quote from Nipsey Hussle
Epilogue
p 385
“Study your queen so you can give her what she wants without asking.”
Nipsey Hussle, Musician, Activist, Entrepreneur
Have fun annotating!
Annotate With Sara 