Scan barcode
krish_'s review against another edition
4.0
Malorie Blackman broke my heart with the first book of this series and only now, has she tried to mend it. This is a remarkable story. The turmoil - emotional, physical, mental, and social - is overwhelming. Its like standing on a log in the water, constantly being tipped over here and there, your arms flailing about, never knowing when you'll finally lose your balance and plunge into the depths below. Sephy, Callie Rose, Meggie, all these people take so many punches I can't understand how they're still upright.
My favourite thing about Blackman's writing is her characterization. We've been with Sephy for three books now, and we've seen her grow from a carefree child, to a bitter teenager, to a dissipated woman; she's so clear on the pages its impressive. We know why she's affectionately distant with her daughter, we know why she's suddenly cold towards Callum's mother, why she's suddenly in the good with her own mother, Jasmine. Sephy's development is so linear with the books, its like we know her for real. Sephy is a solid image that stays in our memory when not engrossed within the folds of their lives, and one that we immediately recognize as soon as we do return. That's an achievement in my opinion. We come across many characters, most of them disappearing into faint blurs as soon as we close the pages shut, but Blackman does not let her characters slip through our readers' hands - she makes sure of that.
Thanks to her writing, we can see and feel the connections between these women. We see Sephy in Callie Rose, we see Jasmine in Sephy. More than just another commentary on racism (a good one at that), this is also a story about women...women who have to pick up the pieces of their broken lives, women who have had very little power to act and affect, women who have had very little say and contribution in the outcomes, their voices echoing in the hollowness of deaf ears either because they are not the right color, not the right age, not the right gender. Women who have lost so, so much and have been beaten down to their absolute lowest, who have been left with nothing to hold onto but their pride and stubborn will, sometimes their anger and resentment, sometimes love, sometimes desperation, sometimes pure determined conviction...it knocks the breathe out of you once you're able to have a full grasp of what it must be like for these people. I tell you, these are women who have been left with nothing but each other...which they come to find is enough. Eventually.
They are victims, yes, but Blackman does not serve us characters that deserve or need only sympathy. They are flawed. Sephy chooses to take what has been done her and bury herself in the darkness. She turns her rage and sadness and bottles them up, occasionally patching cracks throughout the years. She has made herself alone, and numb. So different to the girl we first met. We get mad at her because we know she knows what she's doing is destructive; that she should go over to her daughter and hug her, tell her all the things we read her saying in her head but never has the courage to say out loud. Meggie, who has lost her entire family, should not have bribed and threatened Sephy and Callie Rose into staying with her. Jasmine should not be so methodical. Callie Rose, so blind, so disillusioned. We have reasons to want to shake them and wake them, except that these are incredibly sad people, and we also know why they are the way they are, and we ask ourselves, what would I have done?
But in the end, they pull through. These are strong women, despite being wronged - perhaps, it is even in spite of being wronged. They have strength they've kept hidden from their oppressors (who take all forms, from husband to son, from the public to one's self), and we see them reaching the end of their patience, moved by urgent events, to finally unleash their wrath. We see what they're capable of and we're in awe. Another extraordinary thing about them is that they might argue that what they've at last resolved to do isn't bravery at all. And in a way, it isn't. Jasmine and Meggie shake, cower, doubt and fear every step of their path. Jasmine and Meggie might rationalize and say its out of necessity, that it is for the greater good. But it would be a lie. Because they do not, for one second, choose willingly what they're called to do. They accept, that is all. They are required to make the deepest, greatest sacrifice and its one of those moments I think we'll never fully understand unless we're one day asked to do the same. Blackman gives us a lot to swallow, and it doesn't go down smoothly.
This isn't a review is it? More like a rant of the opposite kind. I love these books and I'm angry I didn't have time to write a review immediately after reading as that's when I have most to say. But days have gone and most of what I wanted to write has gone with them. I wouldn't have been able to do this justice anyway, so perhaps its just as well.
Somethings I will say I didn't enjoy (as much), hence the missing star, is that there were a bit too many p.o.v.s, but again, I didn't hate it. The problem was that I wanted so much of Sephy, of Callie Rose, that when I was taken from them, I was disappointed. But then it was to get to know more about Meggie and Jasmine and I complained no more. This is also a very reflective book; it is marinated in internal monologue. Many, many thoughts are expressed. Now, usually I hate that but it works here because I love the characters. The dialogue was also occasionally cheesy, but digestible.
Remarkable book, let me say again. Remarkable. More people should be reading Blackman's Noughts and Crosses series. I don't know how I'll get my hands on the fourth, but I tell you now, I will.
My favourite thing about Blackman's writing is her characterization. We've been with Sephy for three books now, and we've seen her grow from a carefree child, to a bitter teenager, to a dissipated woman; she's so clear on the pages its impressive. We know why she's affectionately distant with her daughter, we know why she's suddenly cold towards Callum's mother, why she's suddenly in the good with her own mother, Jasmine. Sephy's development is so linear with the books, its like we know her for real. Sephy is a solid image that stays in our memory when not engrossed within the folds of their lives, and one that we immediately recognize as soon as we do return. That's an achievement in my opinion. We come across many characters, most of them disappearing into faint blurs as soon as we close the pages shut, but Blackman does not let her characters slip through our readers' hands - she makes sure of that.
Thanks to her writing, we can see and feel the connections between these women. We see Sephy in Callie Rose, we see Jasmine in Sephy. More than just another commentary on racism (a good one at that), this is also a story about women...women who have to pick up the pieces of their broken lives, women who have had very little power to act and affect, women who have had very little say and contribution in the outcomes, their voices echoing in the hollowness of deaf ears either because they are not the right color, not the right age, not the right gender. Women who have lost so, so much and have been beaten down to their absolute lowest, who have been left with nothing to hold onto but their pride and stubborn will, sometimes their anger and resentment, sometimes love, sometimes desperation, sometimes pure determined conviction...it knocks the breathe out of you once you're able to have a full grasp of what it must be like for these people. I tell you, these are women who have been left with nothing but each other...which they come to find is enough. Eventually.
They are victims, yes, but Blackman does not serve us characters that deserve or need only sympathy. They are flawed. Sephy chooses to take what has been done her and bury herself in the darkness. She turns her rage and sadness and bottles them up, occasionally patching cracks throughout the years. She has made herself alone, and numb. So different to the girl we first met. We get mad at her because we know she knows what she's doing is destructive; that she should go over to her daughter and hug her, tell her all the things we read her saying in her head but never has the courage to say out loud. Meggie, who has lost her entire family, should not have bribed and threatened Sephy and Callie Rose into staying with her. Jasmine should not be so methodical. Callie Rose, so blind, so disillusioned. We have reasons to want to shake them and wake them, except that these are incredibly sad people, and we also know why they are the way they are, and we ask ourselves, what would I have done?
But in the end, they pull through. These are strong women, despite being wronged - perhaps, it is even in spite of being wronged. They have strength they've kept hidden from their oppressors (who take all forms, from husband to son, from the public to one's self), and we see them reaching the end of their patience, moved by urgent events, to finally unleash their wrath. We see what they're capable of and we're in awe. Another extraordinary thing about them is that they might argue that what they've at last resolved to do isn't bravery at all. And in a way, it isn't. Jasmine and Meggie shake, cower, doubt and fear every step of their path. Jasmine and Meggie might rationalize and say its out of necessity, that it is for the greater good. But it would be a lie. Because they do not, for one second, choose willingly what they're called to do. They accept, that is all. They are required to make the deepest, greatest sacrifice and its one of those moments I think we'll never fully understand unless we're one day asked to do the same. Blackman gives us a lot to swallow, and it doesn't go down smoothly.
This isn't a review is it? More like a rant of the opposite kind. I love these books and I'm angry I didn't have time to write a review immediately after reading as that's when I have most to say. But days have gone and most of what I wanted to write has gone with them. I wouldn't have been able to do this justice anyway, so perhaps its just as well.
Somethings I will say I didn't enjoy (as much), hence the missing star, is that there were a bit too many p.o.v.s, but again, I didn't hate it. The problem was that I wanted so much of Sephy, of Callie Rose, that when I was taken from them, I was disappointed. But then it was to get to know more about Meggie and Jasmine and I complained no more. This is also a very reflective book; it is marinated in internal monologue. Many, many thoughts are expressed. Now, usually I hate that but it works here because I love the characters. The dialogue was also occasionally cheesy, but digestible.
Remarkable book, let me say again. Remarkable. More people should be reading Blackman's Noughts and Crosses series. I don't know how I'll get my hands on the fourth, but I tell you now, I will.
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to read this because I brought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. The first and second book was brutal and ended on a cliffhanger that I had to carry on with the series to find out what the hell was going to happen. This book is still brutal, and I believe everyone needs to read this series, but I struggle with this book.
This book has multiple points of view. The main focus and point of view during this book is Callie Rose. Her mum is a Cross, and her dad was Nought. Her dad was a murderer. Her dad was a terrorist. These facts are the only things that are hers and real. So, she doesn’t mind that she’s leaving it all behind. She thinks there is nothing holding onto. Sixteen years have passed since Sephy Hadley first met Callum McGregor and the hate that divided them turned to hope. But the world hasn’t changed quickly enough for their daughter, Callie Rose. Growing up as mixed child in a world where bitter prejudice divides Noughts and Crosses has meant she’s an outsider wherever she turns. Jude teaches Callie about her real family history, and the more she learns the more he persuades her where her loyalties really lie. But soon Callie is caught in a trap she can’t get out of – one which will have deadly consequences.
This book is still brutal, yes, it is supposed to be a dystopian and fictional book, but it didn’t feel like it at all. This shows the way that society still is, and it made my blood boil. It just frustrates how people still be like this? This book has a strong storyline. This is a powerful book. I love how we’ve watched Sephy grow from a young child to a mum of a teenager. This book shows what hate and brainwashing can do to a person and how secrets can rip families apart. I liked that we got additional POVs from both of the grandmothers, Sephy and Jude.
I felt like half of the book was repeating itself a bit and repeating the actions of the first two books. Between all the POVs, I felt like I was reading the same things over and over again. I felt like this book could have been cut in half and we still would have got everything we needed to know and the story and the drama. I get why they did it with the secrets, but with the flashbacks chapters of Callie growing up, to show the betrayal and things, but it was just confusing, and I think it would be better if they were in chronically order rather than jumping back and two. I hated the love triangles; I don’t think there was any need for them.
I feel like this has dipped a bit from the original plot of the first book. I think Malorie needs to go back to the original plot of book 1 and remember why this was written rather than going off on a tangent and making a book out of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Cancer
Moderate: Bullying, Alcoholism, and Cursing
Minor: Rape
diaspora_reader's review against another edition
4.0
After a 7 year hiatus, this saga is (almost) done for me. A spoilerfest for books 1 and 2, but spoiler free for 'Checkmate'.
You better believe I'm reading 'Double-Cross' after this. I'm not done with these characters just yet.
Letter writing is a common trope in this series. Inspired by you, Callum, let me write one.
Dear Malorie Blackman,
I am so grateful for you. I can count on my hands how many novels in highschool I was exposed to which contained people of colour as the protagonists. Its reduced to one hand if we're specifically asking for black characters. Maybe I'm being dramatic and there's more, and I'm forgetting them. BUT, If I'm able to name them, it's a clear indication there were few and far between.
I practially frothed at the mouth when I heard of 'Noughts and Crosses' in year 10. Engulfed book 1 with its heart-wrenching plot twist of an ending. Devoured 'Knife-edge', despite myself, since it was so much sadder than it predecessor (loved it anyway). And ultimately, I struggled to find 'Checkmate'. Until finally, my local library acquired the paperback that I've always needed!
How did you manage to write this entire series and sleep at night. The pain you caused (or allowed) my precious favourites to go through. This one was undoubtedly the darkest and twistiest of all three. It was a dystopian series way before its time, and I'm thankful for this. I'm not sure how it would have been received had it been published in this decade. I like the consistency of your story-telling. That's pretty necessary when you're discussing a world of systematic oppression. Where every action and word has a flow on effect that will significanlty damage the lives they impact.
Sephy was a woman scorned. I loved reading her become apathatic and withdrawn, simply because I love the woman she is as a result of all of her pain.
Jude was unapologetically broken. No one ever realised the effect the world was having on him until it was far too late. As a result, he was a conduit for destruction over and over again.
Callie was a clash of two worlds. Noughts and Crosses; McGregors and Hadleys. How brutally this story captured that war within her. A heavy way of dealing with it too, but I guess that's dystopia for you.
Meggie deserved better. Jasmine has my whole heart and liver too.
Callum was a story unfinished in so many ways, and I'm still getting over that. His presence still looms over the story, not even as Callie's dad, or Sephy's one true love. As his own person who you can't help but want to read from one last time.
Tobey is still brand new for me. A bit of a mean prat, but I'm trusting there's a reason for all of that.
I like your story telling. I usually dislike fast-paced of a novels, where we start from childhood and end with adulthood, etc. However, it worked here. I almost forgot we'd started the novel with Callie-Rose aged 5. I like the characters you introduced. I wasn't ready to let go of Sephy as protagonist, and introducing Tobey and Callie's stories so late in the game did not bode well with me at first. However, the world which your previous characters left still had major mending to go through, so onto the next generation to navigate through that. AND! I love that in amongst the crazy world you'd built, you focused on your people. It didn't become a story of evil Crosses vs. the innocent Noughts. Weaving complexity throughout each page you gave one heck of a story. I love a novel that makes me react out loud. Why do I still have a soft spot for your anatagonist? He doesn't deserve my heart-ache.
I deserved. You deserved a mini-series for this one. But for now, I'll just buy the series in bulk. There's no valid reason why I shouldn't own it and I'm ashamed its taken me this long to realise it.
signed,
Callum's (fourth) Biggest Mourner.
Side note existing outside of any letter:
I low-key feel like the characters' development came at the expense of the world-building. Understandably, oppression is shifting as the novels progress, but I don't entirely understand why. Perhaps I'm forgetting details I'll recapture in a re-read. However, I really want to know where their world stood in terms of equality. Not the prejudiced opinions of people, but their world as a whole. What laws had been created to afford a fair and just society? Who were their freedom fighters? What flawed laws worsened systematic oppression? What made it difficult for Noughts to be equal asides from the Cross' prejudice? Am I thinking too much? Am I projecting our society into a novel? Who knows. The thing about modern discourse on racism is now we are able to understand that its power is in systems, hence, systematic racism. Discourse on racism today isn't the same as it was 10+ years ago. So for that, it's okay my questions are unanswered.
You better believe I'm reading 'Double-Cross' after this. I'm not done with these characters just yet.
Letter writing is a common trope in this series. Inspired by you, Callum, let me write one.
Dear Malorie Blackman,
I am so grateful for you. I can count on my hands how many novels in highschool I was exposed to which contained people of colour as the protagonists. Its reduced to one hand if we're specifically asking for black characters. Maybe I'm being dramatic and there's more, and I'm forgetting them. BUT, If I'm able to name them, it's a clear indication there were few and far between.
I practially frothed at the mouth when I heard of 'Noughts and Crosses' in year 10. Engulfed book 1 with its heart-wrenching plot twist of an ending. Devoured 'Knife-edge', despite myself, since it was so much sadder than it predecessor (loved it anyway). And ultimately, I struggled to find 'Checkmate'. Until finally, my local library acquired the paperback that I've always needed!
How did you manage to write this entire series and sleep at night. The pain you caused (or allowed) my precious favourites to go through. This one was undoubtedly the darkest and twistiest of all three. It was a dystopian series way before its time, and I'm thankful for this. I'm not sure how it would have been received had it been published in this decade. I like the consistency of your story-telling. That's pretty necessary when you're discussing a world of systematic oppression. Where every action and word has a flow on effect that will significanlty damage the lives they impact.
Sephy was a woman scorned. I loved reading her become apathatic and withdrawn, simply because I love the woman she is as a result of all of her pain.
Jude was unapologetically broken. No one ever realised the effect the world was having on him until it was far too late. As a result, he was a conduit for destruction over and over again.
Callie was a clash of two worlds. Noughts and Crosses; McGregors and Hadleys. How brutally this story captured that war within her. A heavy way of dealing with it too, but I guess that's dystopia for you.
Meggie deserved better. Jasmine has my whole heart and liver too.
Callum was a story unfinished in so many ways, and I'm still getting over that. His presence still looms over the story, not even as Callie's dad, or Sephy's one true love. As his own person who you can't help but want to read from one last time.
Tobey is still brand new for me. A bit of a mean prat, but I'm trusting there's a reason for all of that.
I like your story telling. I usually dislike fast-paced of a novels, where we start from childhood and end with adulthood, etc. However, it worked here. I almost forgot we'd started the novel with Callie-Rose aged 5. I like the characters you introduced. I wasn't ready to let go of Sephy as protagonist, and introducing Tobey and Callie's stories so late in the game did not bode well with me at first. However, the world which your previous characters left still had major mending to go through, so onto the next generation to navigate through that. AND! I love that in amongst the crazy world you'd built, you focused on your people. It didn't become a story of evil Crosses vs. the innocent Noughts. Weaving complexity throughout each page you gave one heck of a story. I love a novel that makes me react out loud. Why do I still have a soft spot for your anatagonist? He doesn't deserve my heart-ache.
signed,
Callum's (fourth) Biggest Mourner.
Side note existing outside of any letter:
I low-key feel like the characters' development came at the expense of the world-building. Understandably, oppression is shifting as the novels progress, but I don't entirely understand why. Perhaps I'm forgetting details I'll recapture in a re-read. However, I really want to know where their world stood in terms of equality. Not the prejudiced opinions of people, but their world as a whole. What laws had been created to afford a fair and just society? Who were their freedom fighters? What flawed laws worsened systematic oppression? What made it difficult for Noughts to be equal asides from the Cross' prejudice? Am I thinking too much? Am I projecting our society into a novel? Who knows. The thing about modern discourse on racism is now we are able to understand that its power is in systems, hence, systematic racism. Discourse on racism today isn't the same as it was 10+ years ago. So for that, it's okay my questions are unanswered.
abbiestorr's review against another edition
4.0
better than the second :)) still not a fan of the more than 2 character POV chapters but they added more to this book than knifes edge
fdr_girl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My entire heart shatters and heals within this book, it's so powerful and such a heart wrenching glimpse into pain and loss and fear. Choices make us who we truly are and this book takes one splintered family and shows how each one makes choices to survive - but is there more to life than just survival?
lol now i'm being a dick idk i love this book
lol now i'm being a dick idk i love this book
simonrtaylor's review against another edition
4.0
Checkmate begins sixteen years after Knife Edge concluded, with two colossal showdowns taking place. From that point, the book splits into threads – one continuing the showdowns until the book’s climax and the other recounting the intervening sixteen years to demonstrate how they came to be.
The concept works really well. The breakdown of Sephy and Callie-Rose’s relationship, and Jasmine’s increasing desperation, are believably depicted, and each time stream adds a layer of detail to the other. We hear the familiar narrative voice of Blackman through her various narrators (this time including Sephy, Callie-Rose, Jasmine, Meggie, Jude and – in a brief cameo – Callum), but with the added dual timeline twist. It’s a good time to shake things up as we reach the third major volume (fourth overall if you include An Eye for an Eye) and the format change is refreshing. The passing time is marked by giving Callie-Rose’s age before each of her narrative turns from childhood through to sixteen, which is appropriate given her central role in proceedings and makes the timeline easy to follow.
Callie-Rose integrates quickly into the cast and easily becomes a prominent figure. She finds her own voice and is a different lead character from Sephy. It helps that everyone else is somehow acting or reacting to her – Sephy in reacting to their relationship, Meggie in trying to preserve her place in her life, Jude in trying to corrupt her. By the end of the book, it seems that she has always been involved in the series. We see an interesting difference in society from when Sephy was her age some twenty years before; we see for the first time how a mixed race person fits into the dystopia; and most interestingly we understand how Callie-Rose’s impression of Callum is substantially different from the reader’s.
The reader finds themselves rooting for events, people and relationships and Blackman does enjoy teasing us before switching timestream on us now and again.
Checkmate was originally written to be the last instalment, and it would have been a fitting (if surprising) conclusion. It will be very interesting to see where the writer chooses to go from here.
The concept works really well. The breakdown of Sephy and Callie-Rose’s relationship, and Jasmine’s increasing desperation, are believably depicted, and each time stream adds a layer of detail to the other. We hear the familiar narrative voice of Blackman through her various narrators (this time including Sephy, Callie-Rose, Jasmine, Meggie, Jude and – in a brief cameo – Callum), but with the added dual timeline twist. It’s a good time to shake things up as we reach the third major volume (fourth overall if you include An Eye for an Eye) and the format change is refreshing. The passing time is marked by giving Callie-Rose’s age before each of her narrative turns from childhood through to sixteen, which is appropriate given her central role in proceedings and makes the timeline easy to follow.
Callie-Rose integrates quickly into the cast and easily becomes a prominent figure. She finds her own voice and is a different lead character from Sephy. It helps that everyone else is somehow acting or reacting to her – Sephy in reacting to their relationship, Meggie in trying to preserve her place in her life, Jude in trying to corrupt her. By the end of the book, it seems that she has always been involved in the series. We see an interesting difference in society from when Sephy was her age some twenty years before; we see for the first time how a mixed race person fits into the dystopia; and most interestingly we understand how Callie-Rose’s impression of Callum is substantially different from the reader’s.
The reader finds themselves rooting for events, people and relationships and Blackman does enjoy teasing us before switching timestream on us now and again.
Checkmate was originally written to be the last instalment, and it would have been a fitting (if surprising) conclusion. It will be very interesting to see where the writer chooses to go from here.
chezleyrose's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bookedandwatched's review against another edition
4.0
Book 3 in the original trilogy. The focus of this instalment is Callie Rose. We get to see her now she is 16 and how her life has turned out and what a wayward 16 year old is going through as an impact of her parents lives and choices.
The women in this series really are the backbone and heart of it. Their connections create the world and tell the story in all its mess and glory.
There are certain scenes in this book which I think would play better visually than as an audiobook, which is how I consumed them.
Overall a good book and a great way to close out the original trilogy.
The women in this series really are the backbone and heart of it. Their connections create the world and tell the story in all its mess and glory.
There are certain scenes in this book which I think would play better visually than as an audiobook, which is how I consumed them.
Overall a good book and a great way to close out the original trilogy.
kkaste's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0