PENGUIN Noughts & Crosses

Arrived promptly. Exactly as described.

I read this recently as it was on the reading list for a course in writing for children. I was sceptical as it was written many years ago (and we were told to read things published in the last 6 years). But wow – this is phenomenal! The writing style had me gripped from the beginning. Blackman doesn’t waste any time with fluffy stuff that’s not relevant, yet she crafts her characters so cleverly, I felt like I knew them really well by the end.I didn’t expect the ending either…

Arrived quickly and in good condition. Very interesting book. I am teaching it to my Year 7 English class. They are enjoying all of the issues it brings up. This is a dystopian novel. The first in a series. The Crosses are the powerful minority in a post apocalyptic society. They have the best jobs, housing and education. The Noughts are their servants. They have few rights and are understandably unhappy with their lot. The story centres around a forbidden relationship between a Cross girl and a Nought boy. It’s a complex tale and doesn’t have a happy ending. Well worth the read. My Year 7’s love it.

This book is on my daughters KS3 reading list. I decided to read it first as it's description gave me concerns over the suitability of it's contents. My daughter is 12. I would say that it is an easy read as far as the vocabulary is concerned. The subject matter is fairly grown up, with racism, suicide/ suicide attempts, a terrorist attack, hangings as capital punishment and a kidnap. However, as it is written from the perspective of teenagers, it is not too detailed and sympathetically written. I will be reading this with my daughter, but I expect it to lead to plenty of explanation and discussion. As an adult reading this book, I found it extremely absorbing and will be reading the rest of the series.

I am a not-so-young adult and I really enjoyed reading this.I wish I had read it earlier!I also love reading books before watching TV/ film adaptions.I can’t wait to watch it (though I’m sure it won’t measure up).We even decided to name our newborn Sephy (Persephone) after I read this during my maternity leave 😂

After enjoying the TV series based on this book series, I decided to read the first instalment, Noughts & Crosses by Marjorie Blackman. It's set in a world where black people hold the power, and there is a very segregated society in the UK, between the 'noughts' (white people) and the 'Crosses' (black people).The book alternates POV between Callum, a nought teenager, and his childhood friend, Sephy, a Cross girl who is a couple of years younger than him.It's certainly an interesting setup but, in my view, falls foul of a similar problem to The Hunger Games. Because the POV is restricted to two emotional teenagers, who are struggling with all the normal aspects of growing up, as well as the societal and political situation in the their world, there's a lot more teenage melodrama and a lot less exploration of the world and its more global issues.For a teen audience, I suspect that's a good thing, but it didn't really work that well for me. The book is well written, and the characters come through very strongly, but I missed the more nuanced and expansive view of the world that was provided by the TV series. The ending was also very different, which took me rather by surprise. Again, not a bad thing, per se, but not what I was expecting.The book was good for what it was (and I can understand why it has garnered critical and fan acclaim), but I'm not going to carry on with the rest of the series.