Pastime Pleasures #20 – Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Posted November 13, 2014 by Charlotte in Pastime Pleasures / 2 Comments

Noughts and Crosses - Pastime pleasure

Welcome to my  feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.

N.B. For scheduling reasons I am posting this today, rather than Friday. It’s only one day different!

Pastime Pleasures #20 - Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

I’m not even sure how I begin to describe how good Noughts and Crosses is as a book. I read it when it first came out and now over ten years on, the rush of emotions and the impact I feel when I read it still has not changed.

Callum is white, he is a Nought and is therefore a second-class citizen, Sephy is black, she is a Cross, and is therefore part of the ruling class. The divide between these two classes is deep and there are strict separation policies in place. But Sephy and Callum are in love and will do anything possible to close that divide.

Can Sephy and Callum fight against the prejudice, can they overcome the hate and oppression? Can they face up to the enduring battles, not only with the politics but also with each other?

Noughts and Crosses is a sublime book, showing that the lines and boundaries are not always clear, there are times when they are blurred. Race is only one part of the story. There is encouragement to fight for what you believe in, to never judge a person until you actually know them, to do the right thing but overall to be compassionate, to be fair and finally to be understanding and honest.

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