Double Cross: Book 4 (Noughts And Crosses)

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Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments This is an original, intelligent, perceptive and though-provoking series of books – and whilst squarely aimed at the Young Adult market, it clearly transcends the restrictive boundaries of that genre.

Well, this is a hard one to review. Partly because I feel that this book is good and partly because I feel that being part of the ‘Noughts and Crosses’ series ruins it. I mean ruins because it didn’t have to be, this book could have stood up by itself and been counted. It didn’t need to be tagged on to a series, it’s so relevant to the youth of today and it hits hard. Putting it in an alternative reality is like taking something that’s meant to cause damage and wrapping it in bubble wrap. It needed to feel like it happens in our society for the simple reason that IT DOES. The premise is good, I mean once I’d got into the story I adored what was happening. It wasn’t a slow burner and once Tobey was drawn into the gangs I was hooked! The writing is perfect, it paints the scenes so well without adding words that don’t need to be there. I genuinely liked the story. One of Malorie’s best ideas! (That I’ve read anyway!) Most of it is written through the eyes of Tobey and although we do get to hear Callie Rose at the very beginning and then at the end, it is brief. Sadly, we never hear from Sephy, which was a great disappointment. She was the original character and it would have been nice to find out how her life was turning out and if she was happy. I liked Tobey's character, but I didn't care about him as much as I had Sephy and Callum. There is also no alternating voices with each chapter, which I thought was a shame as the format had worked so well in the previous books. The plot wasn't bad, there are so many different sociological aspects that could be examined in the context of this series, but it was quite disjointed compared to the clear lineal structure between the first three novels. This book follows a character who is completely irrelevant in the rest of the books and his story was very uninteresting and didn't leave me with anything.They've been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies - love is out of the question. Rebecca – I think she’s quite a random character to want to mention but she was actually one of the most likeable in the book in my opinion. She was the only character that didn’t feel like she had a dark secret or hidden intentions and I liked that. She didn’t deserve to be in the situation she was in. I wanted more for her. Why did you do that Malorie? These are increasingly important books to be read by all – particularly in view of the current political climate and the ever more disturbing rise in the so-called ‘alt right’ / white supremacist groups in certain parts of the world.

Tobey wants a better life - for him and for Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the violent gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some extra money, how much could it hurt to just this once say 'yes'?It tales on tough topics like knife crime, drug addiction etc. which I think is important but the execution was terrible. Mild spoiler here but the drug addiction plotline was so poorly done and barely touched on, I didn’t feel any emotion at all it felt so shallow. I also don’t believe a teenage boy could’ve outsmarted several gangs but okay cool I guess he did. The problem I think I had, which colored my reading of Double Cross, is that the third book in what was supposed to be a trilogy ended with threads woven in and it was a nice, natural close to a satisfying story. Here, the story was extended beyond its natural lifespan and it felt somewhat forced. When I heard about this book coming out I went crazy. I looked everywhere for spoilers (something I am telling you NEVER DO), and all I found out was that it was going to involve drugs and gangs. I waited months for it to come out, and read it in two days (which involved my English teacher threatening to convincate it because I stayed up to midnight reading XD). And it didn't disappoint. It was as fantastic as all the rest. The ‘Noughts & Crosses’ series provides us with an explicit flip and twist on both the history and current political and cultural demographic of British society – where racial politics is turned on its head and power structures are completely reversed.