Crossfire

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Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2019 | August 2019 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month August 2019

Former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman makes a brilliant return to her best-selling Noughts and Crosses series with an all-guns-blazing story of prejudice, love, ambition, politics and violence. In the series launch title, Sephy, a Cross, and Callum, a Nought, challenged the divisions in their society.

They paid a heavy price for doing so but they did make changes; racial and class barriers were brought down and the future would be brighter. Or so they thought. But a generation on, while superficially things look better, the prejudices are never far away and where they are, violence follows. When the first Nought Prime Minister is framed for murder he turns to his old friend Callie Rose, daughter of Sephy and Callum to defend him.

But crossing the racial divide is still unpopular and both have ruthless enemies. As corruption spills into violence the next generation, Troy and Liberty, are terrifyingly caught up in the conflict. Malorie Blackman’s scope is huge in terms of characters and time- frames in this hard hitting socio-political commentary which has obvious resonance for today.

Reviewed by Julia Eccleshare M.B.E
Julia Eccleshare has a lifetime of working within children’s books as a critic, an editor, an author and a commentator.
More reviews by Julia Eccleshare M.B.E

About Crossfire

Nominated for the Costa Children's Book Award'The Noughts & Crosses series are still my favourite books of all time and showed me just how amazing story-telling could be' STORMZY'Malorie's Noughts & Crosses series is the first time I saw myself in a book . . . they were pacey, exciting, rich. What Malorie Blackman has always done so brilliantly is put the minority front and centre, both in society and politics.' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS'The most original book I've ever read' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH'Malorie Blackman is absolutely amazing ... [Noughts & Crosses] really spoke to me, especially as a woman of dual heritage.' ZAWE ASHTON'Crossfire is searing, political and furious. Malorie's world building is sublime and the way the Noughts & Crosses series holds a mirror up to society is unrivalled' JUNO DAWSON_____A sudden frisson of awareness crackled through me like a static shock.'Hello, Callie. What's what?'The baritone voice made my head snap up.Tobey Durbridge.Years have passed since the love between Sephy - a Cross - and Callum - a Nought - destroyed their world and changed their families and society forever.Society appears to be very different now. For the first time ever, a Nought Prime Minister - Tobey Durbridge - is in power. Race and class don't divide people anymore. But things are never really that easy.Because Tobey's just been framed for murder, and the only way to free himself is to turn to his oldest friend - Callie-Rose.Their families divisions run deep, and when two young people are kidnapped, their lives and everything they've fought for are put in the firing line.And when you're playing a game as dangerous as this one, it won't be long before someone gets caught in the crossfire...Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses series is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.

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