Noughts & Crosses: 25th Anniversary Special Edition (Noughts and Crosses, 1)

This is the story of Callum and Sephy (Persephone). One white the other black, separated by the system on racist grounds. Black is the dominant race with the white minority suffering racial prejudice. Right from the start you are struck by the racial injustice and loss of hope in the minority community, as gradually everything is taken away from them.. The integration of schools echoes the civil rights movement in sixties America. How standing up for what is right has unforeseen consequences and a price to pay. Likening the story to Romeo and Juliet almost trivialises the bigger picture which goes far beyond two families. This book examines how institutions – school, justice, employment and politics affect the individual and how socialisation reinforces and shapes the wider society. Why the use of language matters, not only in how we see ourselves, but how we view other people. The value of work and the denigration and loss imposed by society when it is absent or lost. The breakdown of relationships through poverty and hardship. The pace of this novel is measured and dynamic, not letting up for a second, yet not feeling rushed either. Written alternatively from both Callum and Sephy’s point of view, we get a view of race from both sides. How family dynamics and loyalties cause friction on both sides, echoing the problems in wider society. It is interesting that Callum’s family is more united and separate than Sephy’s middle class ideal, with a father who pursues power, a mother who drinks and a sister who wants to escape the family home. The characters are well drawn, both Callum and Sephy are relatable and although we do not see much of their parents, we do feel their concern for their children’s future. The siblings Jude and Minerva are both the older rebellious sister and brother who challenge the system on their terms. Sephy and Callum naively believe things can change through acts of will and non-violent means. Love conquers all. The ending is logical and satisfying. It is not a miracle cure, it does not give false hope, like the rest of the book it just states the facts. The addition of the short story An Eye for an Eye really enhances the ending and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Noughts & Crosses is one of the best novels I’ve read this year—a gripping and emotionally charged story that stays with you long after the final page. Malorie Blackman crafts a brilliant alternate reality where racial power dynamics are inverted: the dark-skinned Crosses rule society, while the pale-skinned Noughts face systemic oppression. Noughts & Crosses is more than just a dystopian YA novel—it’s a mirror held up to our own world, exposing the ugliness of racism while also celebrating resilience and love in the face of hatred. Blackman’s storytelling is flawless, balancing sharp social commentary with a deeply personal narrative. If you’re looking for a book that entertains, educates, and emotionally wrecks you, this is it. An absolute must-read.

I signed up to be a World Book Night giver this year when I saw Noughts & Crosses on the list. I first read this a few years ago when my younger brother (then 11, but with a reading age a few years older) recommended it to me, went on to read the whole series, and have recommended it to several people since. So I'm really glad to have the opportunity to hand out free copies to an audience who might not normally pick up this kind of book! Malorie Blackman imagines a society where American history has been turned on its head: the dark-skinned Crosses are the ruling class, while the pale (or `blank') noughts are second-class citizens with recent memories of slavery. Sephy Hadley is a Cross, the daughter of a prominent politician and a lady of leisure. Callum McGregor is a nought, the son of Mrs Hadley's housemaid. Because of their mothers' working relationship, Sephy and Callum have grown up together and forged the strongest kind of friendship. At the start of the novel, Callum is in his mid-teens and is starting to realise how difficult - and even dangerous - it might be to maintain their friendship. Sephy is a few years younger, and more sheltered in her upbringing, and remains naively optimistic. Their first test comes when Callum starts at Sephy's school. He is one of a very small number of noughts allowed, for the first time, access to the same education as Crosses and he is full of hope for the future. While his brother Jude (and, to some extent, his parents) feel nothing but anger and hatred, Callum is determined to beat the system from within: he will receive a good education, find himself a good job and make a difference. Unfortunately, both Callum and Sephy underestimate the prejudice, distrust and open discrimination that the nought students will face. Their second test begins when the Liberation Militia (a nought organisation, branded as terrorists by the Crosses) engineers an attack on a shopping centre, and Callum and Sephy find themselves on opposite sides of a widening chasm. As well as the clear influences of recent political history, there are also echoes of Romeo and Juliet in the novel - any teenage novel needs a good romance plot, after all! I actually really liked the presentation of Callum and Sephy's relationship, and the way it changes over time (the novel spans several years). Initially, their main concern is being able to sit together at lunch and it's hard for them to imagine that anything could really come between them. As they grow older, and realise that they might want more than friendship, the ups and downs of their budding romance become more complicated and more adult (making Noughts & Crosses more suitable for secondary-school children than younger readers). I also think that Malorie Blackman handles the core issues of racism and equality perfectly for her target audience. It would have been easy to write a simplistic morality tale where equality is not only the right solution but an easily-attainable state. Instead, she crafts something more intricate and more real, with shades of grey and situations open to interpretation. There are no clear and easy divisions between `good' and `bad', and she uses her characters to really illustrate to young readers that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter (for example). Viewpoints and individual perspectives shift in response to events, certain characters are revealed to bridge opposing sides, and reader sympathies are challenged throughout. For me, it's also significant that Malorie Blackman follows the story through to its conclusion with integrity, avoiding the temptation to tie things up with the rosy ending that young readers might want. On the downside, I did find the writing a tad unsophisticated. I've read a lot of teenage and young adult fiction in the past few years and I don't believe that the writing needs to be dumbed-down or over-simplified. As far as Noughts & Crosses goes, there are things I like: the very short chapters make it extremely accessible, and the two main character voices are reasonably well differentiated. But I was disappointed by the dialogue, which I found clunky and unrealistic. First, in the early chapters, conversation between characters is used to fill in lots of backstory and blanks for the reader - Callum's parents provide a convenient synopsis of Cross and nought history in a very contrived argument, for example. Second, characters use each other's names far too often - I assume this was an attempt to minimise signposts in the surrounding narrative, but it came across as very unnatural and quickly began to grate on me. And finally, the contractions! I can appreciate that shouldn't've and d'you perhaps reflect conversational speech, but I think it's overdone. I also think it's unlikely that they'd be used quite so often by lawyers and judges in court... There were also occasional errors in my Kindle version - but that could be down to the e-book editing. I had a flick through the paperback, though, and the headmaster's name does inexplicably change from Corsa to Costa halfway through! There's a lot here for any reader, but particularly those in the young adult audience, to think about and discuss. Not just in terms of the big questions, either, but in some of the small details: Sephy's sudden realisation that plasters are coloured to suit the skin of the `superior' class will no doubt strike a chord with young readers and prompt conversation about other such everyday examples of inequality. I can see this being a great book for group reading activities in schools, or for parents to read and discuss with their children. I'm sure Noughts & Crosses has its critics who will complain about aspects of its presentation of complex race issues, or certain twists in the tale, but I read it for what it was: a novel aimed at young teenagers, attempting to shine a light on issues that have had a huge impact on recent history and indeed the world we live in now. It might not be To Kill A Mockingbird, but it doesn't have to be: if it blends aspects of popular teenage fiction with historically and politically meaningful themes, and that's enough to spark an interest and encourage readers to learn more about those themes, that can only be a good thing. And the best thing: it doesn't end here! The series continues with Knife Edge, Checkmate, Double Cross and Callum (a short story companion to Noughts & Crosses).

I have never read a book quite like this before about racism. It's great that the author has been brave enough to write something like this that has and will continue to encourage and guide young people and adults to have difficult but necessary conversations. Wish there had been books like this when I was younger, but so glad there are now. It's a great time for black British literature and hopefully that will last. This book is one such example. I actually met Malorie Blackman at a networking event last year, and I found her wonderful to talk to: down to earth, knowledgeable, supportive and inspiring. I felt bad about not having read her books which I intended to read in the future, and she said it was OK, and that it was nice that I had heard of them. I was excited about the TV adaptation and glad to have read the book. The two are quite different. The book surprised me especially in the direction it took towards the end. Be prepared to be surprised if you have watched the TV production. Another surprise was the gift included in the new edition of Noughts + Crosses. I definitely want to read the other books in this series now as I get the impression that they will be inspiring and thought-provoking stuff. I am proud of Malorie and pleased for her that her books have been so successful. I don't imagine that it has always been easy, but those are the best triumphs. Another thing I liked about this book was that it was easy to forget that this is a Young Adult book. It's meant for teenagers but adults can equally enjoy it too. It would be amazing if more people read this book as it's about a subject of which more people need to develop more awareness so they may improve their view of and interactions with others.

I have heard of Malorie Blackman before but not read her book. I saw episode one of the tv adaptation and actually didn’t enjoy it. I felt like the plot was sign posted, the Romeo and Juliet link was too obvious and the feel of the show just wasn’t engaging me and I was sad about because exploring racial issues is very needed at the moment. Oftentimes adaptions can be a poor initiation of the original work so I suspected that would be the case. Can’t hear your very own imagination. I’m so glad I purchased the book. I’m an adult in my late 40’s and I have to say that the writing and content of the book is really engaging. I’m not a huge lover of romance titles but the book is so much more than that. Politics, ageing, distress, mental illness, love, race issues, social issues, otherness, punishment and so much more. Malorie’s writing is strong, engaging and stands the rest of time considering how long ago it was written. I think some people may struggle with reading a book that has black people as the dominant ethnic group and find that confronting and that’s ok, hopefully people can see beyond that and actually engage with the harsh truth that ethnic dominance is not a trait in humanity that allows everyone to prosper. Is that even possible? One can strive to create a world where that is actually possible, whether it can be achieved... we shall have to wait and see.

I read this book originally (and repeatedly) as a teenager, and recently re-read it after watching the BBC drama series. This is a definitive piece of British young adult literature and it should be read by everyone. I believed that when I was 13 and I believe it now, almost 2 decades later. Malorie Blackman writes about social rifts and culture in a way that is deft and imaginative. The story of Sephy and Callum turns the story of racial conflict on its head. It's beautifully written, funny, tragic and thrilling. As a white teenager without much diversity around her, Noughts and Crosses taught me about prejudice and hate and the damage it causes. Blackman cleverly shaped this book so that every reader would have to empathise with both sides of the racial divide in her novel. She is a master of this genre, if it's possible to put this novel in a specific genre. It's a lot more than simply a YA novel. It's an easy, leisurely read at first, but it quickly becomes something you want to re-read and absorb properly, and an emotionally difficult read at times. If you're an adult, read this. If you have teenage children, put this on their bookshelves amongst the other great novels you'd want them to read. Teachers, put it on your reading lists.

The story isabsolutely amazing from about 12 years and up. Iwas very inpressed and challenged by it. I have scored it as 3 stats as thecover hoves too much away.

Forbidden love spawned by mixed childhood friendships - on the surface, Noughts and Crosses appears to be the latest incarnation of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story and Fox and the Hound. But the first in Blackman's title of the same name is an exploration of racial prejudice and human relationships. The traditional whites-rule-the-blacks world is inverted, presumably to disturb the reader's conception of racist issues. Aside from that, there is nothing much new particularly within the overriding pretext. Callum and Sephy, a white nought and black cross respectively, alternate the narrative in a dual-first person setup which is cleverly done. With so much emphasis on the characters' idea of each other, it's a masterstroke on Blackman's part to allow the reader to understand exactly what is being experieced from each perspective. By the middle of the book, you cannot fail to get annoyed with both Callum and Sephy. Each chapter brings another, more depressing event and both lead characters simply allow life to happen to them. The reader cannot help but be irritated by their insistence on reacting to each setback by sitting feeling sorry for themselves. We must trudge on through the wallowing in the hope of a ray of sunshine, or some proactive activity from either Callum or Sephy. Things change in the latter stages, and the plot takes a more dramatic twist. The ending, while somewhat predictable, is hugely emotive and powerful. Many books are plot-driven with strong characters, but this is one of the few which can claim to be truly character-driven. The writing increases in emotion and Noughts and Crosses, while it didn't quite move me to tears at its conclusion, is the book which has come closest to doing so and for that reason alone I have graded it four stars. Upon closing the cover, I was disturbed and moved by the ending. The book does leave you emotionally drained, but that was no doubt the author's intention. A serious issue such as this should not be casually brushed off, and we are challenged afresh to review our modern world, which is supposedly "over" its racist history. The characters penetrated my thoughts for days after the final page, and I was truly rewarded for pushing through the difficult middle of the book. I now can't wait to read the next installment of the series, ready to be challenged again.

Teens love it, so it should be good I guess.

This book was one of the gud books i eber ready. Some might even say its gud Ho Ho ho

Malorie Blackman has created a brilliant portrayal of reversed racism. In this modern Romeo and Juliet story, the stakes are high. Characters have everything to lose and play for. Optimism turns to violence as hearts get broken and lives destroyed. By the end you'll be desperate for society to change.

Interesting read, good character development and strong themes. Enjoyable to read. Although unsure if I am enamoured enough to continue this series.

Un libro estupendo para adolescentes que lean en inglés. La entrega fue satisfactoria y rápida.