Noughts & Crosses (Noughts and Crosses, #1)

by Malorie Blackman

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. Against a background of prejudice, distrust and mounting terrorist violence, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum - a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger . . .

• ISBN10: 0552555703
• ISBN13: 9780552555708
• Publish Date: 8 August 2006 (first published 15 January 2001)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 10 August 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
• Imprint: Corgi Childrens
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

Malorie Blackman is cruel. I knew there was a big plot twist at the end of Noughts & Crosses, because I had read the back of book two Knife Edge, and yet I still cried. I was still surprised. I was still annoyed. I still wanted to put this book in the freezer, forever, because it doesn't deserve to grace my shelves because I will forever remember what this book did to me. This series is sixteen years old, and yet it doesn't feel like that at all, Dystopian fiction clearly doesn't age.

The whole concept of the races being flipped - with white people being the inferior race and the black people ruling is so eye-opening. In this past year, I have really learned and understood what black and people of colour go through on a daily basis. Understood is actually probably the wrong word, because I am white therefore I can never understand it, but I hope you know what I'm trying to say. It's amazing how blinded you are to things until you see it from someone else's eyes. I could never imagine suffering the things people suffer day in, day out simply because of skin colour so to see it flipped in Noughts and Crosses was just mind-blowing.

This story needs to be read by EVERYBODY. Every kid should have this on their school reading list. It has such an impact, it's so important and I feel devastated having finished it. I feel like I've gone through the ringer with Sephy AND Callum. It's an unimaginable world to me, but it's also so real, it happened (granted, the races were switched) and people are still treated this way to this day (which just honestly baffles me - because I just can't believe that colour can ever have anything do to with anything and I know that's naive and innocent but it's honestly how I feel).

This book was just everything. It made me angry, it made me sad, it made me happy, it put me completely though the ringer of emotions and I'm both nervous and excited to read Knife Edge. God I hope Jude survives

"Love doesn't exist. Friendship doesn't exist - not between a nought and a Cross. There's no such thing." (Callum McGregor)

The concept of this book is awesome! Yep, that's the first thing that I need to talk about... This concept seriously appealed to my History student mind in the most amazing way. Noughts and Crosses is a novel that imagines a world of reverse racism. It's a world where the Crosses, who are black, are superior and reign supreme and the noughts, who are white, are inferior and discriminated against. This is the backdrop that provides many complications towards the two main characters and friends, Persephony Hadley, who's a Cross and Callum McGregor, who's a nought. There's a group of noughts known as the Liberation Militia (L.M) which uses violence and terrorism, the different groups treat each other with disrespect and uses discriminatory names for each other and the propaganda that was used to further the superiority of the Crosses made me sick inside.

Persephony (Sephy) and Callum are friends from a young age and this book deals with their relationship. The issues in their friendship occur due to the fact that there is tension and animosity between the two groups, with not many good reason. Due to their environment and circumstances, they can't help but feel resentment towards each other when horrid incidents involving noughts and Crosses start to indirectly affect their lives. I found Callum and Sephy's resentment, pain and their need for each others friendship real and easy to understand. Unfortunately, I felt contradictory emotions when their friendship turned into a sort of melodramatic romance. I always saw Callum and Sephy as best friends and nothing more. I expected Blackman to create a romance to further show the issues of the society that she created, but, I wasn't fully invested in their feelings and emotions afterwards.

This means that I felt nothing much when the novel ended. I've never cried through any television show or book and when if that happens, that book would be something seriously special. After reading this novel, I knew that the ending wouldn't make me cry, but I expected to feel more than with I did. I started and ended Noughts and Crosses with the same type of emotion. I honestly feel it was due to the fact that the ending felt too melodramatic.

Every action has a consequence and this book certainly proves it. Each character has a set of challenges that they need to face, some more than other (i.e. Meggie McGregor) and a warning for all is that there are no happy endings. This book is realistic, until the end, where it becomes melodramatic... However, it doesn't shy away from the issues of racism and prejudice which still exists today's world.

Noughts and Crosses doesn't have much to do with Tic Tac Toe, but has a concept that I will always remember and treat as a warning.