Noughts & Crosses: Double Cross - Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman writes us another hard-hitting novel about an upside-down view of today's society: in Double Cross. It continues the theme of the previous books in the series, where the blacks rule and the whites represent the working class. I fell in love with the original book, Noughts & Crosses, and have since written about it in some of my GCSE examinations - I am that confident with how deep the story is and what it represents. But I have to say, Blackman let me down with this story. I found the lead character, Tobey, to be unlikeable (which I realise is often the intention in this story, but I disliked him to the extent that I didn't like ...  Read the complete review

This book is different to the rest of the saga in that the protagonist is no longer Callie Rose, but Tobey. Personally, I thought the saga had finished in Checkmate (the 4th instalment) and didn't realise this one had come out. The gap between Checkmate and Double Cross is a good couple of years and I'm not sure what is Blackman's incentive to resurrect the characters. But having said that, this book can be picked up without having to read any of the previous books. You just need to know that the story so far is in a world where black people (crosses) are the dominant race the white people (noughts) are the less dominant race, Callie Rose (a half cross and ...  Read the complete review

The novel opens, like its predecessor "Checkmate", with a shocking scene which leaves the central character teetering on the edge of an almost unthinkable act. Tobey Durbridge has reached a position in which the choice appears horrifically straightforward: kill or be killed. This is a dramatic opening that effectively catapults you into the action and suggests the key motivating force of this novel: rage. After this prologue, the action moves back six weeks to chart the build-up to this momentous scene. The contrast between the violence of the prologue and the almost banal teen-asks-teen on date situation outlined in the first chapter emphasises the ...  Read the complete review

The 4th book, not including the aside 'eye for an eye' (1- Noughts and Crosses, 2- Knife edge, 3- Checkmate) this wasn't originally meant to be written. I remember that when I was younger I heard a bit about Noughts and Crosses and my brother had read it. I never really thought it looked great back then. One day (this is like a little story of it's own) I had nothing to read and I was lounging around. My mum said to find a book so I went to the books that my brother had read and thought I might like (he was a lot nicer back then :P). I read this and was astounded in a way. It is truly brilliant. So this... series (?) of books are about a world like ...  Read the complete review