Racism, terrorism, gangs, sexism and prejudice are just a few of the issues explored in the series.Ĭurrently, in the world today, we are seeing these issues in the news, which makes these books even more poignant to read. In the first book, we follow the love story of Sephy, a Cross who’s the daughter of a well-respected politician, and Callum, a Nought whose mum used to work for Sephy’s house.īlackman presents the innocence of childhood love through Sephy and Callum, but she also uses the events in the story to highlight serious issues and their consequences in both the Noughts and Crosses world and in our own world. We follow the perspective of the world from two sides The Crosses, members of ‘the dark-skinned ruling class’ who hold powerful positions in society, and the Noughts, ‘ ‘colourless’ members of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses’, who are viewed as inferior and who hold little power. So far, the series consists of 5 books, each revolving around a series of characters, but also delving into new ones. However, it also opened my eyes to the current world we live in, and how far certain issues can escalate behind the scenes. When I read Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses, I immediately felt this way. With so many things going on in the world today, it’s always great to disappear into someone else’s life through a book. Reading is always a great way to relax and delve into a world different to our own.

Naughts and crosses malorie blackman