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** SOON TO BE A MAJOR NEW BBC TV SERIES ** 'The Noughts & Crosses series are still my favourite books of all time and showed me just how amazing story-telling could be' - Stormzy 'Stop it! You're all behaving like animals! Worse than animals - like blankers!' Sephy is a Cross: dark-skinned and beautiful, she lives a life of privilege and power. But she's lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her. Callum is a nought: pale-skinned and poor, he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life. They've 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 love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . . . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come. Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic. 'Unforgettable' Guardian 'The most original book I've ever read' Benjamin Zephaniah
Callum is a nought - an inferior white citizen in a society controlled by the black Crosses. Sephy is a Cross - and the daughter of one of the most powerful, ruthless men in the country. In their hostile, violent world, noughts and Crosses simply don't mix. But when Sephy and Callum's childhood friendship grows into love, they're determined to find a way to be together. And then the bomb explodes . . . The long-awaited graphic novel adaptation of one of the most influential, critically acclaimed and original novels of all time, from multi-award-winning Malorie Blackman.
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.
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 _____ 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... Crossfire is the long-awaited new novel in legendary author Malorie Blackman's ground-breaking Noughts & Crosses series. 'Rich in moral and social issues, it is devastating about racial attitudes' THE SUNDAY TIMES, CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK 'It chillingly echoes the tempestuous taste of the world today while offering the intensity of a thriller' I NEWSPAPER
Selected by a distinguished independent panel of experts including our editorial expert, Julia Eccleshare, for Diverse Voices - 50 of the best Children's Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK. Michael Rosen on a compelling favourite: "A book that dared to go where no one thought you could with young audiences because it raises tough stuff to do with race." It takes a brave author such as Malorie Blackman to consider a sequence of the like of Noughts and Crosses and to pull it off with utmost aplomb. Award-winning author Blackman has tackled the issues of racism and prejudice in a world set in an alternate historical reality. Although 11 year olds will take great joy and learn much from reading this first one in the sequence, adults will devour it with equal enthusiasm. The contrast of the two main protagonists makes the novel totally compelling and the writing style is both original and superbly paced. The plot unravels at the pace of a thriller and as a consequence it’s a book that is almost impossible to put down. Perfect for Reluctant Readers as well as keen readers. To view other titles we think are suitable for reluctant readers please click here.
The powerful third story in the Noughts & Crosses sequence follows Sephy and her daughter, as she discovers the secret of her parentage and, as she grows into a young adult, the truth of the prejudices that surround her and control her. The originality of the plot is breathtaking and the characters superbly drawn.
The terrific sequel to Noughts and Crosses which continues the story of Sephy and Callum and their families. Full of mystery, suspense, romance and even murder, taking the reader through numerous different emotions but in the end you will be throughly satisfied - though desperate to read the next in the series, Checkmate.
Thrilling and thoughtful, Double Cross adds a fourth instalment to Malorie Blackman’s acclaimed Noughts and Crosses sequence. Following in her parent’s footsteps, Callie Rose is determined to fight for equality between races and the kind of society she believes in. But violence from the past threatens to rob her of the future she craves while her friend Tobey is thrown off the course of his life by the escalating violence of the gang culture that surrounds him. A fast paced thriller, Double Cross also takes a thoughtful look at the escalating violence of contemporary society. ~ Julia Eccleshare
Just this once . . . Please let me get away with it just this once . . . Tobey wants a better life - for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few 'deliveries', just this once, would it hurt to say 'yes'? One small decision can change everything . . . The fourth novel in Malorie Blackman's powerful Noughts & Crosses sequence.
Everyone assumes the bomb that killed Callie Rose's grandmother was the work of a nought terrorist. But Callie Rose knows the truth - and her fear of the past leaves her afraid for her future. Her boyfriend Tobey is worried about his own future. A nought boy at an exclusive school Tobey hopes to keep out of trouble, go to university, get a good job and leave the dangerous streets of his childhood behind. But Tobey is discovering that he can't keep clinging to some kind of no-man's land while the neighbourhood around him is carved up by rival gangs. Then he is offered the chance to earn some ready money just making a few 'deliveries'. He doesn't want a part of that world, the world of gangs. But maybe he could get away with it, just this once ...He little realizes how his decision will bring violence down on both himself and Callie and just how far he will go in fighting back...
At last the book to tie up the loose ends of the Noughts and Crosses sequence and it certainly doesn’t disappoint in anyway. The originality of the plot is breathtaking and the characters superbly drawn. You’ll be gripped to the last.
Sephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought - a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Against a background of prejudice, distrust and mounting terrorist violence, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum - a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger . . .
The terrific sequel to Noughts and Crosses and continues the story of Sephy and Callum and their families. Full of mystery, suspense, romance and even murder, you’ll go through numerous different emotions when you read it but in the end you will be throughly satisfied though desperate to read the last in the trilogy Checkmate.
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