Noughts & Crosses | Malorie Blackman

☆☆☆☆☆

“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.” 

― Muhammad Ali


Noughts and Crosses is about these two young people trying to figure themselves out in a somewhat corrupted society of prejudice and racial discrimination. In this world Noughts and Crosses don't mix at all. Sephy is a Cross: a member of the dark-skinned ruling class, whilst Callum is a Nought -a “colourless” member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The both are best friends since childhood This is a story about racism in its cruelest and most hopeless form and it is disgusting, really. 

This is the first book in a four book series and one novella, I believe. I've been putting off reviewing this book because no matter how much I say, it won't give the book justice at all, this book was truly phenomenal and heart wrenching. I can tell you how much I loved this book although the struggle it was to finish it only because of this society: it is disgusting to see people being treated this way and this book is most definitely not for the lighthearted readers. However I urge you to read it, only because its worth your time and you won't regret it.  This book is a somewhat 'alternate history'/ 'alternate universe' where the Crosses are the great and the Noughts are nothing but scum "blankers", if you will. Forget about the characters and the plot but this type of 'corrupted' society alone is heart-wrenching to read, the discrimination of skin colour and it made me sick that this was the way they treated each other in this setting. Malorie Blackman has truly crafted a masterpiece and this was fantastic to read, never the less. 

I gave this book five out of five starts because it was deserved. I don't want to say too much about the conflicts that these two characters go through but it is a romance never the less. It is worth the read, everyone should read it but don't think that its light-hearted and bubbly because this deals with the unspoken truth of racism and dysfunctional families. I prefer if I don't say more so I don't spoil or lead on to suspense. 

*I'm sorry but I had 2. 

I'm not so sure how I should go into this because it felt as though my heart was ripped into a million shredded parts then run over by a gazillion busses and then thrown over a cliffs edge, that repeated a billion times. Legit, not even 50 pages into this book I was already balling my eyes. This book truly hurt my heart, so much. I'm sorry if this review becomes miscellaneous because my thoughts are all over the place (I made sure I started writing this a few hours after the book just so my feelings weren't all over the place) but I shall probably start going in order of events.

*So we start of pretty innocent, don't get me wrong the discrimination and racisms was there from the beginning but the characters were innocent: Callum was 16 and Sephy was 14-15, something like that. They're relationship was so adorable can we just take a moment, Callum cared for he so much and vise-versa. Sephy wasn't a hater even though she was a Cross and that was great, she might have been the only non-hater we came across for the most part of that book. The parts where Callum was being beat up and discriminated was horrible to read, I did tear up and at some parts I was full out wailing. I think the part where Sephy stood up for Callum and sat next to him (was sorta stupid) but still very loving; where she got beat up for it, yeah that part was tedious for me to continue because it was so terrible. 

*Their families were very interesting. Callums (the McGregor's) Especially, we start of with a whole family and in my opinion They Were all very much great. Up Until Lynette died, Jude Went ballistics, Ryan lost it and Meggie was trying to hold it together. Poor Callum was in. the Midst of all of this not to mention Sephy's family hated him. Sephy's family aussi Were very interesting, In the Beginning we learn That Jasmine Hadley was indeed alright with the first goal at Noughts Then drifted away. I thought That in a society like theirs, dysfunctional families and everywhere Would Be Was not this something to be very shocked about goal When Jude and Ryan join the Liberation Militia; When Jude plants the bomb I was literally dumbstruck.

I know I'm missing loads of other things but I feel like if I write more all these feeling are going to come back and I just won't be able to hold it in. I just think that (maybe its just me) but Sephy could have saved him but she chose to save her baby and also she thought Callum would despise the thought of the rest of his life in a cell and instead rather die. There were just so much tears that were shed through this whole book and I felt so hollow after reading this. Callum's death was so much to take it I was crying and crying and I couldn't stop. 'I needed to breathe'. This book seriously hurt my heart. It sickens me that racism is still such a big thing in the 21st century, you'd think we would be more civilised, yet were going in circles. This book deals with so much more than just racial discrimination, two people unable to love eachother or be together. I wish that upon nobody, god forbid.