Reviews with content warning for Racism - Noughts & Crosses

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

84 reviews

ed_moore's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.75

“It’s very easy to hide away in a wine bottle but very hard to get out again”

Blackman’s ‘Noughts and Crosses’ tells of the forbidden love between Callum, a white boy and Sephy, a black girl, in a dystopian society where Blackman inverts the racial prejudice and hierarchy that plagues the world. It is a political analysis where the treatment of those white echoes racist societies, with many mirrors to the civil rights movement and the divide between peaceful and violent protest.

Blackman also touches on issues beyond race such as sexuality, broken families and addiction. ‘Noughts and Crosses’ was full of shocks and the ending was especially impactful, however to reach such ending it was a frustrating journey. The story is told in alternating chapters narrated by both Callum and Sephy, however in places I felt this format was so forced and the book would’ve flowed better if not regimented into this strict chapter structure. There were so many switches with the chapters being somewhat short and some were only a few sentences which it felt like only existed to continue the story from one of the characters perspectives but try not to break the chapter structure. Additionally, I really did not like Sephy’s perspective. She was the privileged perspective hence was supposed to be a little out of touch, but Blackman tried to present her as understanding the issues of racism and being the ‘white saviour’ figure (or black saviour to place it literally) and I did just find her extremely insufferable and whiny. I struggled with the story through Sephy’s perspective and Callum was a really interesting character so it just feels like I lost half a book from his point of view.

While I feel like I missed out on the intricacies of Callum’s struggles and the fascinating cast of characters that make up his family due to Sephy’s perspective. The romantic focus of the book also wasn't handled the best and was so much weaker than the political elements, I feel the story could've been so much more powerful without the focus on the problematic relationship between Callum and Sephy. The sequels will likely look a bit more into the wider cast of Callum's family and extend political world-building but I do also really struggle to see how this universe and plot line can be extended into another book, let alone a subsequent five.

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lilzoologist's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.75

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vatodd's review

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1.0

I came into this thinking it was a romance and there would be some young people hopeful political message so I was not prepared for how graphic and scaring this book was. Read the trigger warnings people. It starts off typical but quickly snowballs into so many horrible things with very little, if any, levity. I don't understand Callum and Sephy's relationship. Other than nostalgia for each other it seems like the most prominent emotion they have for each other is contempt followed by lust. I don't feel their love on the page and so this book is just lots of pain.

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octopus18's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

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mimapugh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is an instant 5⭐️ from me. It is heartbreaking and mirrors our lives in the world today so powerfully but in such an endearing way. It makes you want to stand up for what is right, even if that doesn’t always work. It is a beautifully written book that I will suggest everyone reads if they want to question their role in society as we know it and their active stance in situations.

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sam_fielder_137's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

0.75

I have a really hard time believing that a 40 year old woman wrote this. I'm completely certain she hired a 4th grade class to ghostwrite for her because that's how this reads. I am completely appalled by the lack of both plot development and character development. So much happened in this book but absolutely nothing had any real impact on the rest of the story. Each event lasted for 2 pages and was resolved on the next. There was absolutely no nuance. The author tells us everything exactly as it is. I am embarrassed to have read this and I am still grieving the time I wasted on it.

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emaxan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One of the best books I’ve ever read. I never knew this from another race’s perspective and how much racism could evolve however now I see a new lense of equality.

Content Warnings