i really liked this, but thought that the ending let it down. will look forward to reading the next book but the first was better. It was unpredictable which i like and wasn't always just a nice story, definately worth a read.

I didn't like this as much as I liked Black & White. The message about race seemed very heavy-handed and I didn't like the ending. Obviously there is to be a sequel; but there were still too many loose ends in this book. ( )

From the beginning, this is a sad tale as it follows Jude, a nought who has tried to make himself invulnerable by ceasing to feel or care, and Sephy, a Cross who is struggling to come to terms with her life. She is alone except for her new baby and generally despised by her community for giving birth to a ‘halfer’ child.

Although the mood is sad and tense initially, there are moments which suggest positive possibilities for some kind of resolution until two fifths of the way through when two deeply shocking and traumatic events occur. From then on, Jude is set on a path of total destruction and Sephy loses all hope for the future. Thereafter almost relentlessly bleak and depressing, this is not a novel that can be treated lightly.

Blackman emphasises the increasing agony of her central characters by moving through the colour spectrum, from red to violet: from anger to despair. Possible new ventures wither for Sephy and Jude’s malevolence is stunning. The ending, while leaving Sephy’s ultimate intentions ambiguous, will leave you reeling. The warning on the back cover should be adhered to: this book is ‘not suitable for younger readers’. This is a sequel which I would recommend reading swiftly to allow you to turn to the final book in the trilogy. ( )

Synopsis-from Amazon.com
A frightened girl running barefoot on a knife edge . . . that's how eighteen-year-old Sephy feels as she gazes down at her new-born daughter, Callie Rose. Whilst Sephy is a Cross, the baby's father, Callum, was a nought, giving Callie Rose dual heritage in a society where the ruling Crosses treat the pale-skinned noughts - blankers - as second-class citizens. What kind of world will her daughter grow up into? One which is more equal? Or one where discrimination still has the power to destroy lives? Sephy can only hope that the tomorrows will be better than the yesterdays. But fifteen years later, Callie Rose's actions are to plunge both of them into the heart of danger, forcing Sephy - once again - to take sides . . . Sequel to the award-winning Noughts & Crosses, Knife Edge is a razor-sharp and intensely moving novel for older readers. Set against an epic background of conflict, confrontation and courage, it is impossible to put down - and impossible to forget. ( )

Now an 18-year-old single parent, Persephone (Sephy) Hadley is raising her inter-racial daughter in a sharply divided alternate England, where black Crosses suppress the white Naughts. She faces pressure from both her less than understanding Cross family, her disintegrating Naught family, and everyone in between. When her brother-in-law’s violent behavior leads to murder, Sephy provides a false alibi to save Jude, but doing so irreparably damages other lives. Second in Blackman’s trilogy, this work presents similar themes with the same lack of subtlety that dominated the first work; Blackman’s approach to communicating racism is to change instances of black disenfranchisement to white. The most popular white rocker is actually black; white performers must use the back doors to enter venues; popular desserts have racist names. Such a heavy hand leaves readers alienated from the dark history of racism. Jude and Sephy dominate the narrative, though occasionally other voices are included. Stiff language and murky motivation hampers the thin characters from generating emotional suspense. Woodson’s If you come softly (1998) and Krishner’s Spite Fences (1994) address very similar issues, but with rich characters and taut feeling. ( )