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More copies of this ISBNeBook editionsNaughts & Crossesby Malorie Blackman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Callum is a naught, a second-class citizen in a society run by the ruling Crosses. Sephy is a Cross, and daughter of the man slated to become prime minister. In their world, white naughts and black Crosses simply don't mix — and they certainly don't fall in love. But that's exactly what they've done. When they were younger, they played together. Now Callum and Sephy meet in secret and make excuses. But excuses no longer cut it when Sephy and her mother are nearly caught in a terrorist bombing planned by the Liberation Militia, with which Callum's family is linked. Callum's father is the prime suspect...and Sephy's father will stop at nothing to see him hanged. The blood hunt that ensues will threaten not only Callum and Sephy's love for each other, but their very lives. In this shocking thriller, UK sensation Malorie Blackman turns the world inside out. What's white is black, what's black is white, and only one thing is clear: Assumptions can be deadly. Review:"What if Romeo and Juliet had different shades of skin? Sephy (short for Persephone), nearly 14 at the start of the novel, is dark-skinned, a member of the ruling 'Crosses,' and the wealthy daughter of a powerful politician. Her best friend is 15-year-old Callum, a pale-skinned 'naught' whose mother had been Sephy's nursemaid. The two continue to meet on the sly after Callum's mother is fired. When a new law allows 'the crme de la crme of naught youth' to attend Cross high schools, Sephy believes she and Callum can be friends in public. Callum hopes a good education will help him rise out of poverty. Instead, the introduction of naughts into Cross classrooms leads to taunting, fist fights and expulsions. British author Blackman's plot, told in Sephy and Callum's alternating voices, is an amalgam of 20th-century race relations. The setting resembles England, but the author mixes in issues similar to American history (such as a school integration scenario reminiscent of Little Rock in 1957). The naughts' protest organization (the Liberation Militia), however, more closely resembles the Irish Republican Army than members of the nonviolent U.S. Civil Rights movement. Indeed, an IRA-like bombing at a shopping center (linked to Callum's family) propels the second half of the story. Unfortunately, the first half unspools leisurely, but those who stick with this novel will get a tragic tale of star-crossed lovers and plenty to ponder. Ages 14-up. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Synopsis:In this tightly plotted thriller, UK sensation Blackman ("Hacker") offers a modern-day "Romeo and Juliet" set in a world where black and white mean right and wrong--and life and death. Named as one of the BBC's Big Read Top 100 Books of All Time. About the AuthorMalorie Blackman pursued computer science before becoming a full-time writer. She gained phenomenal success with her first book, Hacker, which won two major UK children's awards, and has gone on to write a number of other award-winning children's books. An avid reader, musician, cineaste, and Net surfer in her spare time, Malorie lives in South London with her husband and their daughter, Elizabeth. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment: 
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