Reviews with content warning for Rape - Noughts & Crosses

I decided to read this book because I brought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. This is the eleventh book I've read on this poster. I knew this book was going to be brutal, but holy hell.

This book has two points of views. The first is Persephone Hadley AKA Sephy. She is a Cross with dark skin and the daughter of a wealthy senior politician. She lives a life of power and privilege. But she is lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her and she wants to make the world a better place. The second point is Callum McGregor. He is a Nought with white skin. His mother used to work for Sephy’s mother as a nanny. Callum is considered to be less than nothing – a blanker, there to serve Crosses, but he dreams of a better life. Sephy and Callum have been friends since they were children, and they both know that’s as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies – love is out of the question. Then, in spite of a world that is fiercely against them – these star-crossed lovers choose each other. But this is a love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger, and will have shocking repercussions for generations to come.

This book is brutal, yes, it is supposed to be a dystopian and fictional book, but it didn’t feel like it at all. This shows the way that society still is and it made my blood boil. I don’t think it helped that I was reading The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh at the same time as that book showed small town white supremacy and racism. It just frustrates me like how can people still be like this? This book is fast-paced and the storyline moves along very quickly. This is a powerful book, I feel like everyone in high school or college should read this (I would say younger but there is a lot that happens that could trigger someone so I would suggest checking triggers first). It has a powerful message and Malorie Blackman made sure she was heard. The message with this book doesn’t even have to be about race (although it mainly is), but it can be about fighting for what you believe in, to not judge someone based on background or who their parents are/ what their parents did and to be fair and kind.

What I didn’t like was the jump in the timeline to like 3 years later and how it wasn’t much of a build up to what happened. I would have loved to seen more at how Sephy was advocating at her school and how Callum made his rank in the Liberation Militia. I would have preferred additional POVs chapters from the family as well. I just wanted to know what Lynette was thinking and feeling and how Jude was thinking and feeling as both of them had different experiences in life. I felt like Sephy and Callum had nothing else to do but be obsessed with each other and going back and forth between, “I shouldn’t like them” and “I want to see them now.” I would like more of a second-chance or a more of a distinct break so that us as readers were itching for them to be back together.

I personally believe this book should be a standalone, but seeing as there are 5 or 6 other books, I'm intrigued to see how Malorie has carried this series on especially with how this book ended, unless it’s to do with the next generation and we find out how Sephy did after the events in this book.

Content Warnings

emmagalt's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

izzyvioletgrace's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

An amazing book facing many difficult topics: racism, societal standards and mental health. I loved it.

Content Warnings

feenix's review

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

fairy_gardenn's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

I really enjoyed the book but I don't know why, I don't know how to rate it I'll give it to everyone anyway, although for me it's complex enough to be a YA

Content Warnings

karol99's review

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very YA and not in the best way. I didn't really like the writing. I was very frustrated with the characters, but I think that's due to the fact that the miscommunication trope is a pet-peeve of mine. They were very young for most of te book, which reflected in the writing- I am not a teen, and therefore might have read this too late as I am not the correct demographic anymore. Concept and idea of the book is very interesting, and enjoyed the book tackling race issues that are ignored and engraved into society today, and have become deeply systemic. But what took me out of it was the YA Cons vs the pros. I think think the way the book is written is very much a product of it's time.

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audc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

(READ as a recommendation from a Friend)
I think the last 200 pages were written first because of the quality of the writing.

The premise of this book is SOOO interesting and the world SOO intriguing, but the author does little to even scratch the surface of this iceberg and decides instead to focus on the melodrama and break neck, choke-full plot twists.

The characters were TOO young! The thoughts and series of events that the author needed a certain age to process causes a disconnect between their age (13 and 14/15) and their voice. The author put them through So much and the impossibility that these children handle something that would even cause adults multiple breakdowns; they were more than in over their heads with the MULTIPLE conflicts they faced in one lifetime. It also felt a little rushed as the ramifications and significance of certain events weren’t allowed to sink in or explored.

The character changes gave me a WHIPLASH!! One moment Magaret is hopeful for change and the next she’s spiteful. Minerva is horrid and written as a villain for the entire book and not in a way where we could relate.
And I really felt like there were there only to advance the story. Exhibit A: Lynette

I don’t know if it was just me but I found it really difficult to read in Callum’s perspective. He goes back and forth through a lot of emotions and is not only unsure what he wants but doesn’t have a fixed identity. (I appreciate how he was written as he was going through A LOT, however, his emotions would take sudden quantum leaps.)

I didn’t feel any connection to the characters.

Spoiler

To the point where I wasn’t invested in Mr. McGregor’s trial or Lynette’s suicide.

The characters were never really given good motive and that made them feel one dimensional.

Spoiler

I find it really hard to believe that Callum falls in love with Sephy simply for the reason that they grew up together…because she acts like a child (ofcourse) a majority of the book!

Like, only Mr.Hadley remains in character.

Perhaps because of Sephy’s age, but fir a lot of the book -except when convenient- Sephy is not able to get even a fraction if the stuff Callum is going through (maybe this was done on purpose) but that was frustrating.

This is supposed to be a reality where Africa colonises, however, for a large portion of the story (descriptions, religion, clothes, food, buildings, government etc.) has a very Western glasses over it… This disappointed me the most. Some concepts or things (like hanging) were included but not explored or explained and may have gone unnoticed to the inexperienced.

Though it is once implied that Crosses are as violent as Noughts - Callum’s thoughts on discrimination in court rulings-, we only read them committing justice system crimes/ mundane harassment/ segregation etc. while Noughts LITERALLY bombed A Mall! I don’t know if the author did this subconsciously or on purpose…

A nice quote
“And the fear I felt then was like a moment spent dying.”

Content Warnings

ells_shelves's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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