Naughts and Crosses

Naughts and Crosses
By: Malorie Blackman

Basic Info
Racism.Prejudice.Superiority.Stereotypes.[the lack of]Equality. All very real, important issues in todays society. When you compare where we are now with racial equality to where we were 100 years ago, it's inspiring, however when you look ahead 100 to where we may be then it almost seems impossible. This book took an interesting approach to confronting racist views. It shifted perspectives.

In Naughts and Crosses the superior race are those with dark, radiant, glowing skin, known as the Crosses. Those with empty, blank, white skin are known as naughts. (naught by definition means nothingness, non existance, or even worthless, so it really isn't a nice term, but it's lovely compared to their slang terms) So, basically dark skinned people are the superior group, and white skinned people are the ones with a history of being slaves. The book takes place at a time where many people want to start a revolution because naughts, for the first time, were allowed to attend cross schools.

Plot Summary
The two main characters of this novel are Callum(a naught) and and Sephy(cross). Sephy's father is a politician on his way to being Prime Minister, and when the two were young Callums mom was a servant for Sephys family. This lead to Sephy and Callum becoming close childhood friends, but the two families end up having a falling out. From that moment on the two have a secret friendship that if discovered could ruin her dads political career and cause Callums family to feel shame. However their friendship only grows and they become even closer. But other events put not only their friendship, but their lives in danger. When Callums family becomes involved in the Liberation Miltia (a violent group trying to start a naught revolution) everything changes. His father will more than likely be hanged because he was accused at being at fault for a bombing that killed several crosses and there is nothing Callum can do about it. Things from that point in this thrilling book only become more twisted and shocking. The book covers the time from when they were little kids all the way until Sephy is almost 20.
Why I loved this book so much.
It wasn't slow paced, their was constant action and movement in the plot line and it held my interest. It didn't just hold it; it wouldn't let go. The book is 385 pages and I read it in less than 2 days. I just couldn't put it down, and the ending shocked me, and outraged me a little bit as well. You get so involved in the story and you feel so much empathy for the characters, it's an emotional book. Not to mention the morals that it teaches are great, and the message it's trying to point out.

Also, this is part one of a three part series. I haven't read the other two yet because I just finished this book today. Although I intend to own and read the whole set, because this book was simply amazing. It was powerful, realistic and intense without being ridiculously dramatic.