Noughts and Crosses

What a heartbreaking read this was. My heart bled for Sephy and Callum, two young people from opposite racial and social backgrounds who dared to be friends and gradually fall in love. Set in an alternate reality, the Noughts (the second-rate whites) were not allowed to intermingle with the Crosses (the dominating blacks. I loved how Blackman flipped history around and highlighted the absurdities of society, prejudice and racial hatred.

The story narrative switched between the two teenagers allowing the reader to understand their perspectives as they try to make sense of the world they live in. As the reader I felt their confusion, pain and anger, and shared their growing disillusionment. They showed that the power of love can mend show more bridges and change the world. Their romance was believable and so touching. Despite the pain, separation and heartache it caused, it remained strong and pure, right to the end. The last few pages were horrendous and just left me shattered. Even though I have read this book before, I was desperate for a different outcomes.

Beautifully and powerfully written, with complex characters and full of pain and love, "Noughts and Crosses" is a book that will resonate with me for a long time to come. show less

Noughts & Crosses follows Sephy and Callum, from childhood friendship through to the ways a racially polarised society repeatedly forces them apart.

The book generated huge contemporary discussion and still feels painfully relevant. By reversing racial hierarchies, placing Black society in the position of power while white citizens remain marginalised and treated as second class, it shifts familiar injustices into a perspective many younger readers may not otherwise encounter so directly. What lingers most are often the smaller details, from the absence of plasters for white skin tones to the anger and alienation that pull Callum and his brother toward extremism. It is very clearly a novel designed to provoke discussion, particularly for show more younger readers, and it remains uncomfortable in ways that still resonate.

At the same time, some elements feel tied to the era in which it was written. The central romance leans heavily into fairly traditional gender dynamics, and the pregnancy storyline felt more familiar and inevitable than surprising.

Still well worth reading, even if parts now feel predictable. A difficult book at times, but one that remains strikingly relevant. show less

The very brief chapters alternate between Sephy (a Cross) and Callum (a nought)’s perspectives as they attempt to sustain their friendship in a racially divided community. The twist, of course, is that Sephy is black and Callum is white: Blackman rewrites history by assuming that if African-American men had intruded into Caucasian territory in the same way that Caucasians intruded into African-American territory then the injustices meted out would have been identical to our current history.

The noughts in this tale have only recently been freed from slavery and are still treated as second class citizens. As Callum struggles to make something of himself in a hostile world, Sephy tries to find a way to reveal her own convictions, without show more hurting her friend. Reading both viewpoints allows you to realise how poisonous racism really is without feeling that you are being preached to.

Written simply in first person throughout, the story is convincing but increasingly horrifying as the author also suggests the powerful effect families have on their members. The quick paced narrative successfully suggests the turmoil omnipresent in society, even though the story itself takes place over several years. show less

"Brutal" is the word for "Naughts & Crosses." Even if you see where the story is headed (or perhaps especially if you do), it's grueling to watch the characters move inexorably towards their respective fates.

The story is set in a sort of alternate reality where dark-skinned people ("crosses") are the upper class and light-skinned people ("naughts") are the lower class. The naughts used to be the slaves of the crosses; now they're free, but their lives haven't improved much. And now the son of a naught and the daughter of a cross have dared to overturn social convention by falling in love.

The premise sounds like it could be cheesy, but the author actually pulls it off pretty well, largely because she makes every main character at least a show more little sympathetic. So even though you don't agree with the naughts who have turned terrorist and the crosses who are pulling the strings to maintain the status quo, you at least understand their motivations.

One of the advantages of a story like this where the history of race relations is turned on its head is that it allows the reader to examine the ways in which different races interact with a degree of impartiality, since this fictional world both is and isn't the same as our own.

I came away from this book determined to be a better person, which is a bigger effect than most books have on me. show less

Book 15 [Naughts and Crosses] by [[Malorie Blackman]]

This book was recommended for the Social Justice Theme Read. This is a Young Adult novel and fitting for that age group. Naughts are white people, and crosses are black people. The story is the traditional one of falling in love with someone who is not in your group, and is told from both sides of that experience. What sets this book apart is the depth and subtle insight to these experiences. The characters examine their own prejudices, their own fears of being excluded and discriminated against. Are you willing to die for your values? Are you willing to kill for your values? Are you willing to turn your back on your own family? When you go out of your way to stand with a person who show more is considered less than you, are you doing so for them, or for yourself? This novel asks these questions to a depth I have not seen in other books.

Personal response - Remember from intro psych classes that your brain literally can only physically form to see what it sees, in a manner of speaking? E.g. the tribe in Africa that grew up seeing only circles and curves, no angles, because they were isolated and did not see any other form of architecture? Their brains then could not perceive angles? Remember the language of a particular Native American tribe that uses sounds not used by other languages and that those sounds then remained unheard, literally, by some from other groups? I've had problems holding foreign (to me) character names in my head, and I have heard others complain of struggling with that. With this story and this setting I was able to hold a different picture in my head most of the time. I could see I was in England, I had no problems seeing black people in power as that is not unfamiliar in some places or movies or books or in my experience. What I had extreme difficulty with was holding a picture of white people in the downtrodden position. The stereotype of white people being in power and being the oppressor is too strongly ingrained in my little pea brain. I just was not able to perceive them as the victim, which of course, I found very interesting as well as frustrating. It is just weird to be betrayed by your own brain. show less

This is the story of Callum and Sephy (Persephone). One white the other black, separated by the system on racist grounds. Black is the dominant race with the white minority suffering racial prejudice. Right from the start you are struck by the racial injustice and loss of hope in the minority community, as gradually everything is taken away from them.. The integration of schools echoes the civil rights movement in sixties America. How standing up for what is right has unforeseen consequences and a price to pay.

Likening the story to Romeo and Juliet almost trivialises the bigger picture which goes far beyond two families. This book examines how institutions (school, justice, employment and politics), affect the individual and how show more socialisation reinforces and shapes the wider society. Why the use of language matters, not only in how we see ourselves, but how we view other people. The value of work and the denigration and loss imposed by society when it is absent or lost. The breakdown of relationships through poverty and hardship.

The pace of this novel is measured and dynamic, not letting up for a second, yet not feeling rushed either. Written alternatively from both Callum and Sephy’s point of view, we get a view of race from both sides. How family dynamics and loyalties cause friction on both sides, echoing the problems in wider society. It is interesting that Callum’s family is more united and separate than Sephy’s middle class ideal, with a father who pursues power, a mother who drinks and a sister who wants to escape the family home.

The characters are well drawn, both Callum and Sephy are relatable and although we do not see much of their parents, we do feel their concern for their children’s future. The siblings Jude and Minerva are both the older rebellious sister and brother who challenge the system on their terms. Sephy and Callum naively believe things can change through acts of will and non-violent means. Love conquers all.

The ending is logical and satisfying. It is not a miracle cure, it does not give false hope, like the rest of the book it just states the facts. The addition of the short story An Eye for an Eye really enhances the ending and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. show less

Anyone who claims this book is “original” clearly doesn’t live in the same universe I do. And yeah, I get it. It’s a reversal. It’s making people– white people– the tragic past and present of black people, and the discrimination they face on a daily basis. You’re supposed to read this book and be furious about that happens to Callum so that you can take a step back and realize that the prejudice in this book exists in your world too, albeit in a different form. But when I read it, all I felt was bored.

Two reasons I didn't like this book:

First off, the relationship between Callum and Sephy. If I wasn’t told repeatedly that they’re best friends and that they love each other, I never would have known. There was zero show more chemistry. They didn’t get along, they had nothing in common, they didn’t understand each other at all. But but but they were childhood friends! Yeah and big deal. I grew apart from my friends, and by all means, they really should have grown apart too. Hell, the story would have been ONE HUNDRED times better if they grew apart and ended up hating each other and then were thrust back together when the plot required it. Boring and uninspired. That’s what I would call their relationship. The romance was sloppy, the characters annoying at best, and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. A forced romance, used only to make the plot work. The worst crime you could commit against your characters.

And second– the writing is atrocious. At first, I was willing to forgive it. “Oh,” I said to myself, “it sounds like a 13 year old wrote this because Sephy is thirteen! It’s meant to highlight how young and immature they are!” And I think I was partially right, because as the characters age, the writing does improve– slightly. But boy oh boy, is it ever immature. It’s so sophisticated, and it makes me wonder if anyone ever sat the author down and told her she’s not a very good writer. It’s a lot of exclamation points– including in internal thoughts– and a lot of dumb questions and a lot of “yeuck!” “as if!” “haha, funny one, Sephy!” type stuff. I wanted to pull my hair out. The writing not only took me away from the story, but it made me dislike the characters, and it made every emotionally scene fizzle away.

I didn’t hate this book. I really, really disliked it, but I didn’t hate it. I appreciate its attempts to explain race, and I appreciate its accessibility. I probably would have loved the hell out of this book if I was 13 (except I would have hated the Thing that happens at the end– not the very end, but the Thing that leads to the very end). But I’m not 13. I’ve lived in this world, and I’ve read some good books.

Enough to decide that this one is not very good. show less