#rate4

Rate5 - Darn Expensive but Imma still go back for more

Rate4 - Mid Ranged Pricing and Imma go back for more

Rate3 - Not too Expensive to Cheap and Imma go back for more

Rate2 - Not bad but won't go back unless exception

Length: 433 pages

Date started: 24/09/12

Date finished: 29/10/12

Age range: 14+

Rating: ☮☮☮☮

My English teacher rocked up to lesson one day, and used this book as an example for something. I was immediately interested after he mentioned the supreme blacks and inferior whites that the story surrounded, mostly because I’m studying Civil Rights in the USA for History and understand the black/white divisions that Blackman would address in the novel.

My teacher lent me a copy and I started reading straight away. I even put down The Casual Vacancy for it (note to self: pick that back up another day), which shows how eager I was. 

I’m going to try not to reveal the plot too much here, but basically the protagonists Sephy and Callum come from different backgrounds, and are different races, so their friendship is frowned upon. Sephy, 14, a cross (dark-skinned/dagger) has privilege and security. She has an education and a promising future ahead of her. Meanwhile, Callum, 16, a nought (light-skinned/blanker) has only recently been given access to secondary education. The two have been friends since a young age as Callum’s mum used to work for Sephy’s mum; this friendship is put to the ultimate test.

The story is set at such a pace that it really keeps you hooked. What started off as a novel about two forbidden lovers turned into a controversial, thought provoking story about terrorism and right from wrong. Looking at the cover, you really wouldn’t expect the twist, but it gets you thinking.

The novel switches perspectives every chapter, so you get some from Callum, them some from Sephy. The chapter lengths vary considerably; some are half a page while others can be six or seven pages. Because of this, the total number is 117 chapters, but don’t let that put you off. The twists and turns in the story are accentuated by the choppy perspective changes. Blackman has used this form very effectively  but only in hindsight did I realise this. Noughts and Crosses is the kind of book that you have to sit back and reflect on after turning the final page.

The time of this novel changes very suddenly about two thirds of the way through, and it took me a while to grasp that a period of time had passed. For a good 5 or 6 chapters I was still envisioning the younger Sephy and Callum; if you pick this book up be wary of that.

It took me a while to read, but that’s because I had to keep dipping into The Perks of Being A Wallflower in order to write my English coursework (review to come soon) and I hate crossing stories because I get confused. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in alternate-world type novels, forbidden love stories, or someone whose ears pricked at the sound of controversy and fast pace. Heed warning though, it is definitely not for younger readers. The issues addressed in this novel and the events that take place are not suitable for the younger adolescent, for example, *spoilers* violence, terrorism, crime and death.