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'? Enter Jude McGregor. Jude teaches Callie about her real family history, and the more she learns the more he persuades her where her loyalties really lie. 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. Just like the other books in this series it’s easy to read and I flew through it. Something about this story line just keeps me reading. But soon Callie is caught in a trap she can’t get out of – one which will have deadly consequences.

Tobey wants a better life - for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few 'deliveries', just this once, would it hurt to say 'yes'? LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives.

About Malorie Blackman

Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks. Home > This review assumes that you have read all the previous books in the series, and thus will contain spoilers with regard to those stories.

No one could begin to guess at the depth of the hatred I held for Sephy Hadley. Everything began with her and my brother. And that’s how it would end. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this fourth book in the Noughts + Crosses series as it’s not focused on the main families but on a friend of Callie’s. However I thoroughly enjoyed it and was kept gripped and entertained throughout, just as I was with the other books in the series. Callie Rose knows all about the danger of saying 'yes'. She knows about terrible mistakes, and violence and revenge, and the fierce divide between Noughts and Crosses. Callum is a nought: he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life.

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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. Dan – He’s not the biggest character in the story but he is one of the most significant. He’s a total tool. I felt that not even his redemption part was enough for me. He just didn’t seem sincere. I felt like he might’ve had his own reasons for doing what he did. But we’ll never know (hopefully. I don’t want to! I want to imagine. This is not a plea for a book 5.) He’s a shady guy, if I met him I’d cross the road. Or knee him where it hurts if he tried anything... and I think he would. Just this once ...Please let me get away with it just this once ...Tobey wants a better life - for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few 'deliveries', just this once, would it hurt to say 'yes'? One small decision can change everything ... 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.

In 2008 Malorie received an OBE for her services to children's literature, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children's Laureate. Most recently, Malorie wrote for the Doctor Who series on BBC One, and the fifth novel in her Noughts & Crosses series, Crossfire, is published by Penguin Random House Children's.

Malorie Blackman Press Reviews

Sixteen years have passed since Sephy Hadley first met Callum McGregor. For Callie Rose, growing up mixed race in a world where bitter prejudice divides Noughts and Crosses has meant she’s an outsider wherever she turns. 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. If this had been a stand alone novel I'd have given it four stars. I'm taking away a star because it's an unnecessary part of the series. Full review in the next few days. 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!)

Sephy is a Cross: she lives a life of privilege and power. But she's lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her. 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.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. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Although the last 2 books to this series probably aren't my favourites, I feel that the conclusion to them was everything I wanted and definitely made me realise I was more connected to the characters than I thought. 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.