Noughts & Crosses - Malorie Blackman

This book is branded as 'young adult' (I found it in the children's section), and I can see why it is - but I also think that the extremely dark themes make it pretty unsuitable for a children's shelf in the bookshop. Malorie Blackman's 'Noughts & Crosses' is another one that I never got round to reading in my younger years (can you tell I've spent the year ticking off my list of should-have-read-by-now books?!) and finally picked up. 

The dystopian novel focuses on the central characters of Callum (a white teenager or 'Nought') and Sephy (a black teenager or 'Cross'), who live in a society where black people are the 'superior race', and whites are subjugated. I can certainly see why this sense of role reversal is an effective technique for a young adult reader who might be exploring these important themes for the first time - it really hits you hard. The concept of the Noughts and Crosses is that black people or Crosses are deemed 'closer to God' (hence the religious symbolism) and therefore dominant, whilst whites are segregated and often deemed ‘blankers’ - a derogatory and racist term which suggests they are without meaning. Callum and Sephy are childhood friends, unaware of the reality that Callum's mum is the housemaid for Sephy’s family.

The novel begins in the innocence of childhood, with the pair’s ignorance to the boundaries that separate them, but as they become teenagers things take a dark turn and reality hits. The black-only school that Sephy attends admits a handful of high-achieving white students, including Callum, though the gesture is wholly tokenistic and the school suspends the white students for the slightest reasons. Their paths begin to veer off in very different directions and due to the privileges which Sephy is afforded, her opportunities expand whilst Callum’s grow ever narrower.

The story is gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I was surprised at quite how dark it becomes towards the end and certainly would warn children of its distressing scenes before they read it. But the message is extremely poignant and Blackman executes it cleverly - I’m looking forward to reading the rest in the series!