Noughts and Crosses

Noughts and Crosses 1

De: Malorie Blackman

Narrado por: Syan Blake, Paul Chequer

Sephy is a Cross – a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a nought – a ‘colourless’ member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that’s as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Cross schools… Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum – a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger....

©2001 Malorie Blackman (P)2004 Random House Audio Go

Wow!

This has been one of the most moving and culturally relevant books I have read in a long time. Captivating story, beautifully written, empowering and emotionally tragic all at once. I cried at the end of the novel and was left with a sense of WOW at the end of the book. This book needs to be a part of young adult reading curriculum in the US. Thank you Malorie Blackman for writing this story. You are a true literary artist.

A good book but it felt a bit off sometimes.

It was a good book, but in a few parts it felt like whip lash. Some of the twists could be spotted a mile away but all in all a good story and well written characters. Just not my cup of tea.

Young adult thinker

Mostly a good plot, very good for young romantics. One of the two protagonist voices was good, one was lacking a bit. Though for middle/high school students I’ll recommend this podcast, but more so the paper book. Hits harder when you read it yourself, in my experience.

So arresting!

Such an arresting story! It left me breathless, and eager for the next installment. Tragic, yet hopeful characters.

Racial Romeo and Juliette

Good read; easy listening. Reveals bumps and mountains faced by individuals because of societies differences.

Confronting story

Would you listen to Noughts and Crosses again? Why?

No, once was nice, but also enough.

What did you like best about this story?

It confronts you with your views and makes you think about the stereotypes you have.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It was nice that there were 2 narrators for the 2 main characters. However, the girl was a bit overdramatic every now and then (Syan Blake) and the boy was a bit difficult to understand here and there (Paul Chequer).

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending: unexpected!

Any additional comments?

Listen to the sample first before you buy. If you like the narrators, this is definitely a story worth listening to.

Disappointed with the end

This book had a lot of promise but I cannot give it a 5 star because I will never read it again. Not a good ending.

Brilliant and relevant

Fantastic book, both voice actors were excellent and emotes well, the subject matter is important. White people should read this book, and learn something from it.

Malorie Blackman knocked it out of the park again.

Terrific YA Book

I chose this book because one of my students was reading the book and needed some help understanding it since English isn't her first language. I am so pleased that I did! It was a terrific book that kept me engrossed all the way through it. I could relate to it on many levels. I was a teenager during the American Civil Rights Movement. I could remember the Black Panther Movement. I was reminded of the IRA in Ireland. Now living in Australia I could see a relationship with the struggles of the Koorie population.
I am recommending this book to be put on our Year 10 reading list! I can see lots of discussions with the students.
My one annoyance is that the rest of the series is only available in abridged versions. The first book ended in such a way that I wanted to get right into the next book. Looks like I will have to buy the printed or e-book versions.

Just wow!

Visualization was tough and I loved that it challenged me in this way. The fact that I was so far into the book before skin color was denoted was the most brilliant way to highlight the privilege white readers approach a novel with and the importance of having black voices as main characters.
Thank you for this gift.