Noughts & Crosses (Noughts & Crosses #1) by Malorie Blackman

 

Paperback, 479 pages

Published May 27th 2003 by Corgi (first published November 1st 2000)

ISBN

0552555703 (ISBN13: 9780552555708)

original title

Noughts & Crosses (Noughts & Crosses, #1)

series

Noughts & Crosses #1

characters

Callum McGregor, Persephone 'Sephy' Hadley

literary awards

BBC Big Read Top 100 Title (Number 61), FCBG Children’s Book Award (2002), Sheffields Children's Book of the Year (2002), Wirral Children’s Paperback of the Year Award (2003), Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award (2002) Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award (2002), Fantastic Fiction Award (2004)

Two young people are forced to make a stand in this thought-provoking look at racism and prejudice in an alternate society.

Sephy is a Cross -- a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought -- a “colourless” member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood, but that’s as far as it can go. In their world, Noughts and Crosses simply don’t mix. Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum -- a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger. Can they possibly find a way to be together?

In this gripping, stimulating and totally absorbing novel, black and white are right and wrong.

This edition also includes 'An Eye for an Eye' which is a short novella written for 2003 World Book Day  

My Review

WOW! What an amazing book. Its the modern day Romeo and Julliette but with a very modern and completely original and refreshing twist to it. I had heard about this series of books for a long time, how they had been praised by my fellow reading friends, and it was even suggested to me a few times. But I was reluctant and now I am not sure why. I loved the whole book and can not find anything negative to discuss about it. It made me smile, laugh and cry. The story was just romantic and yet it had this very realistic feeling to it which meant that as the reader you were actually pulled into the story, to understand it and to really fully and absolutely relate to it. I loved the way that the story was introduced and yet more of me wanted to know what happened back then in the past. I wanted to understand more about the older sister of Callum, to understand what made her the way she was and why.

It was a powering and thought provoking book. It challenged you to think about the way in which we discriminate merely because of the differences. In some ways the book made me wonder what side would I be on if this were all true. Would I be a Nought simply because I come a low income family, was never ever popular? or would something somewhere and somehow place me as a cross. The whole idea had you wondering, especially when it comes down to the who and what can go to the school. The book just made me look at how I perhaps push certain people away because of how they are. So in many ways the book actually made me feel guilty about the person that I have been and made me want to change so that I am not like this at all.

I loved the way the forbidden romance was not cliche at all, in that it showed and represented the difficulties there were. However when Callums dad was killed, tears literally filled my eyes and I wanted to be a member of the crowd so that I could shout at them that they were making a mistake. It showed to me who the better people were because they went out to do what they could to save their families lives, even if it meant wearing a label that was not made for them. However it was when it appeared that Callum had gone evil that I really gasped, after all was this entirely possible? At this point I found myself hooked to the book and my mind was wanting to read faster and faster. I just wanted to let the adrenaline free so that I could speed read the book. Of course though, the shock was ended with understanding that all made sense after I had read it.

The ending in my opinion, though heartbreaking was perfect. it captured all the different emotions that it needed to have in order to have the readers totally hooked so that they would continue to read all the series. I was in tears when I got to the end simple because it was sad but it was also beautiful. I find myself want to know what happened to sephy now, wanting to read on so I can see what comes of her future. I feel this series has a strong potential to be one of the better series you can read.!!

My rating