Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

*Warning - This review contains spoilers. A less than satisfactory grade in my English module last term resulted in the purchase of this book. Well, that was the excuse I used for the bank of mum. In reality I had heard of it through friends and decided that it was time to read something new. Having just recently read things such as 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'Pride and Prejudice' i assumed that the novel would be quite an easy read by my standards. ...
...there were several times I had to use a dictionary as reference. Although the book does contain a warning that it is not suitable for younger readers, it is also generally categorized under 'teen reading.' Some of the more advanced younger children would probably have no problem understanding the context, in exception to a few words as I stated above, and therefore might be able to gain access to it through a parent or guardian. I am well aware that ...

aestro 18.10.2006 (12.12.2006) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...I've ever read before. Noughts and Crosses is the first in a trilogy followed by Knife Edge and finally Checkmate. Malorie Blackman has had an unaccountable amount of acclaim for this book and its the winner of the Children's Book Award. Noughts and Crosses is a book set in a world where you are either a Nought or a Cross. And although this concept is mostly interpreted as the different races, and in the book a Nought is white and a Cross is black, ...
...be one of the first Noughts to attend one of the best schools that Sephy goes to too. But this is nothing compared to what else happens in this book. Sooo much happens, I don't want to spoil any of it, but it just gets better and better, if you can call what happens 'better'... When I started reading it I liked it, but I wasn't too sucked into it. Yet. I went along with the story and I really liked how the writing changes from Sehpy's perspective ...

Chellers 13.08.2005 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...reversed in this revoloutionary book! Noughts and crosses gives you much of the information you need to know to understand the book, the blacks which are the dominant and powerful race are the crosses, while the whites which are little anad controlled by the crosses are the noughts. But this story focuses on the life of two young people named Sephy and Callum, Sephu being a cross and Callum being a nought which just adds to the drama and the passion ...
...so I would reccomend having a box of tissues at your side! This is a trilogy of books but recently a new one has been released: Noughts and Crosses Knife Edge Checkmate Double Cross (new one!) xxx *****This is also published on DOOYOO under the same name!***** ...

2me_to_you2 09.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

Noughts And Crosses is the sort of book that when you've finished, you sit back and think "wow." It's impeccably written, the characters feel so real and the plot is like nothing you'll have read before. (Spoilers are in this review) **Blurb** The blurb on the back of the book reads: "Callum is a nought - a second-class citizen in a world run by the ruling Crosses... Sephy is a Cross, the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the country... ...
...is divided into two, with noughts and Crosses making up the population. Noughts are white people, and they are considered inferior; they have the manual labour, mindless, unskilled jobs and are generally of a lower class. Crosses are black people, and they hold the power, they are in government, they are the rich people and have only the best jobs. There is a divide between the two, the Crosses are not openly hateful towards the noughts, but you ...

amytheduck 08.03.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...Noughts and Crosses explores a world which reverses racial history. The 'Crosses' are the dominant race, while in contrast the 'Noughts' are nothing, they have no dark pigment in their skin and are considered unworthy. Noughts cannot attend the same schools as Crosses, they undertake menial low-paid employment, they are discriminated against openly and this discrimination is encouraged by the government. I found this racial reversal fascinating ...
...grow…. Noughts and Crosses explores the illicit teenage romance between Callum and Sephy in a world where they simply cannot be together and as such it has been known as 'A book of love'. But this is not a cheesy love story. The book also explores the prejudices encouraged in the Crosses and the Noughts fight for justice against the discrimination they face. The book has won a number of prizes including The FCBG Children's Book Award (2002) and the ...

nickyturnill 21.12.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...upwards - including adults. Noughts and Crosses is a compelling story written by respected black author Malorie Blackman and takes a unique look at racism in an alternate world. Visually, it is an appealing novel with a simple cover of black and white and an easy to read typeface that doesn't have you squinting. The chapter sections are eaisly indentifiable and the book is sufficiently thick enough to challenge young readers, although it may scare ...
...against the backdrop of dissatisfied Noughts wanting equal rights and Crosses seeking to maintain dominance and this is brought home to the two teens when they are forbidden to see each other over something which happened in the past which no-one speaks about. The book itself is sepearted by short sections which alternate narration by either the idealistic Sephy or the gentle Callum and the narratiive styles are very different which is a refreshing ...

Ohajiki 19.11.2007 (27.11.2007) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...popular computing / internet magazines, Noughts and Crosses somewhat over-ruled my bedtime reading! It was incredibly gripping, and I just couldn't put it down! After the initial prologue, the main part of the story is told from the perspectives of both Sephy and Callum in an alternating fashion. This is interesting, as it gives perspectives not just from the narrator, but from the people themselves - both Sephy and Callum. The central topic is ...
...of the book's cover, the story is a fierce ongoing struggle between two groups of people - the noughts, and the crosses. I feel it's better not to tell you which colour is which just yet. I didn't know from the start, and when I found out, quite a way into the story actually, I was shocked. My whole images of the characters had to be changed, and for me, this was an amazing twist to the story. So I'm not going to spoil it for you! Sephy and Callum ...

wbafcben 08.01.2005 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...the leading race, and the noughts are very much prejudged and discriminated. It is, in a way, fairly bizarre as this world is the same and different to our world at the same time. This fact is very intriguing, and I think perhaps that's what makes the story so compelling. There are two main characters; Persephone and Callum, complete opposites, right and wrong. Callum is a nought, one of the first noughts to be awarded a proper education, and Sephy ...
...determined to keep reading. Noughts and Crosses has 445 pages, which may seem like a lot to you now, but when you have read the book, you will wish it was much longer, as you're so sad you are not with the characters any longer. Malorie Blackman writes in such a way that gets to connected to the characters, like they are your real friends. The layout of the cover of the book is simple, yet very effective, and, I think, brings across the idea of ...

Mipsie 26.09.2004 (01.10.2004) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

Noughts and Crosses is a must read book for people of all ages (i recommend 12+). through out this book i was oohing and aahing not willing to put the book down. When it came to finishing the first i had to move onto the second book (An Eye For An Eye), going out the next day to buy the rest of the series. But focusing on this book. Its a tragic tale (and dare i say it) "of two star-crossed lovers" but with twists and turns around every corner, when ...
...next. We start the novel following young Callum McGregor and young Sephy Hadley across the field playing as if their was no problems in the world and at that age why should their be they didn't have a care in the world he was a boy and she was a girls to them there was no other differences. Little do they know in the not so distant future they begin to learn What their differences are. Adding to the "shock factor" Callum shows exactly how much Sephy ...

jwkcom786 14.11.2009 · Read full review
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...our current history. The noughts in this tale have only recently been freed from slavery and are still treated as second class citizens. One of the key events early on in the book is the attempted integration of Noughts into Cross schools; the ways that teachers and pupils react is simultaneously understandable, disgusting and intensely sad. As Callum struggles to make something of himself in a hostile world, Sephy tries to find a way to reveal ...
...allows you to realise how poisonous racism really is without feeling that you are being preached to. The technique is particularly powerful because we follow Sephy and Callum's relationship and attitudes as they grow from innocent young children into increasingly angry teens. Written simply in first person throughout, the story is convincing but increasingly horrifying as Blackman also suggests the powerful effect families have on their members; ...

brokenangelkisses 03.08.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...have been reversed and amplified. Noughts are second-class and on the poverty line. Crosses are empowered and rich. Class status and racial status are the same thing. A brutal hierachy exists, and none escape it. In the midst of this are Callum and Sephy, best friends who conceive the prospect of love after their very first kiss on the beach, the location for many of their realisations. Callum's mother, Meggie, used to be a nanny to Sephy before ...
...is the Deputy Primeminister, a bigot and a racist. He wishes his daughters to grow up with as little contact with noguhts as possible. Callum has just been accepted into a Cross school after pressure from a noguht terrorist organisation, the Liberation Militia. But the world is moving far too fast for the pair to grow closer peacefully. Lacking another means of self-expression, more and more noughts, including Callum's brother and father, are choosing ...

beyondharujuku 01.10.2005 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...in a series of four, Noughts and Crosses has two different classes of characters. One group are the noughts, who are white, and are treated by Crosses as inferior. Crosses have more money, better education and better healthcare than noughts, and are the ruling class in society. Callum McGregor is a nought. Sephy Hadley is a Cross, and she is the daughter or the Deputy Prime Minister. Callum and Sephy have been friends for many years, but pressure ...
...in, which was equality between noughts and Crosses. He joins the Liberation Militia, a group of "freedom fighters" who use political terrorism to achieve their goals. The story starts at the Hadley's house, a few years before the main plot. Young children Sephy and Callum are playing happily in the garden, seemingly immune to the bitter and hate-filled world around them. Meggie McGregor works for Jasmine Hadley, but is fired from her job when she ...

liamsingh 24.02.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

Noughts and Crosses deals with many deep issues, most importantly racial prejudice and discrimination. However it also deals with so much more, from terrorist actions and politics to parental misguidance. The story tells about the racial barriers between the black people (Crosses) who are superior, and the white people (noughts) who are inferior, who were slaves and segregated. The story is done tastefully and thoughtfully, gently leading into these ...
...(the goverment have finally allowed noughts into the same schools, were as they were previously segregated.) At first, they were both delighted at being in the same school and classes, but on Callums first day they realise the problems Callum will face. Called "Blankers" as an insult (Blank skin; blank minds), the integration was strongly protested by many and Callum faced prejudice from teachers and pupil alike. **SPOILER WARNING** The story continues, ...

CharleneC 07.01.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

What a fantastic book!!!!!!!! For anyone who has started this book and just can't seem to get in to it, please, please, stick with it. It does seem a little slow paced at first and sometimes following the story (seen from two perspectives of Callum and Sephy) can be a bit confusing. It's one of those books that is a bit of a slow burner. However, a little over half way through it becomes absolutely un-putdownable!!! It's such a cleverly written ...
...unique, and disturbing way. I literally stayed up until 3 am frantically rushing through the pages until I reached it's dramatic climax. Word of warning...have a box of tissues handy because I cried BUCKETS at the end, which really surprised even me! Although it's mainly aimed at older teenagers/young adults, don't be fooled into thinking that the author sugar coats events. Ms Blackman is a master of capturing the utter despair than runs throughout ...

loum70 07.07.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman

...truth about the racial injustices. Noughts and Crosses also shows the same style of Romeo and Juliet love. Callum is the second class citizen in the book and Sephy is daughter to one of the most powerful men in the country. It is recognised as deplorable behaviour if they are to mix and as they grow up from their innocent childhood hostility changes to violence...it's up to you to find if they can find a way to be together. This is one of the most ...
...very moving. The book is written to it's best as the characters are developed so well, as well as giving you a commendable amount of background knowledge. You get a great insight to different peoples lifestyles, how they think, how they live and how they treated other people, espcially those who are seen as a lower class citizen to them. You begin to feel the pain and brutal feelings they express as the language to create every sense of unjust and ...

fwankiedoodle13 06.04.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Noughts And Crosses - Malorie Blackman