Reviews

Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman

katrina26's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

reginacattus's review against another edition

3.0

It's been quite a while since I read the first one, which set up a backwards world where the ugly stereotypes of race have been reversed. Now, as I thought then, I find it a lovely slap in the face. Sometimes you need the bad stuff poured on you to really see it. In any case, this book is in the same universe, following mostly the same characters in a mostly unchanged world. The stakes now, though, are if anything higher yet. But the same core values are held as Sephy fights to love her mixed race child despite it all, and each character struggles against the deeply seeded prejudices. Jude, though, is an absolute sickening piece of work. He is so messed up he thinks he's right, but every one of "Jude's Laws" is too immovable, too fixed to allow exceptions and that has made him basically a psychopath. Yet I'm certain there are real radicals out there quite like him; able to feel but far too indoctrinated or emotionally scarred to let themselves. Still, he either has to miraculously redeem himself or die in the next book. The book's written in the same charismatic writing style you expect from Blackman, and I rather enjoyed it. I gave it three stars because all the love is dead. Not bad as a serve it fresh book, but not what I wanted to read.

readwithkatie_'s review against another edition

4.0

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to read the Naughts & Crosses series. This book was incredible and easily as good as the first. It had me hooked from the first page and was soo hard to put down. Again, it addresses racism but in a unique and really effective way. It certainly leaves you thinking.

The only thing stopping this from being a 5 star read for me, is the amount of song lyrics in it, I just found it hard to engage with them. But overall, fantastic.

coyotes_tiptoe's review against another edition

4.0

I got into this after a little while, and read it in three days but I wasn't quite as captivated as I was during Noughts and Crosses.
I found Jude and Sephy to both be slightly irritating narrators for different reasons; Jude is a little two dimensional and too angry, Sephy is a little bratty. I understand why they're like this but it doesn't make for the most fun reading. Whilst it was mostly quite bleak, I was drawn in. I wanted to know what Jude was up to and I was curious where Sephy was going with everything she was doing.
Overall I still really enjoyed reading Knife Edge but it was slightly too bleak for my taste, there wasn't really ANY indication that things were going to get better for anyone so I did have to put it down at points and do something else before I could continue.

cupitonians's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

mabellouise's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

andrew61's review against another edition

4.0

Last year I read Noughts and Crosses and really enjoyed it so wondered if the second book could maintain it's compelling narrative and I was pleased to say that it did and because of the narrative structure I rattled through it as it moved in very short chapters from individual perspectives.
The main protagonists were sephy , now having just given birth to Callum's daughter, and Callum's brother Jude. Jude on the rum is bitterly angry and his anger is focussed on Crosses and particularly Sephy.
I won't spoil the story but Jude's actions lead Sephy into a situation in which she is morally compromised and I put the book down looking forward to finishing the trilogy soon.

bookstashan's review against another edition

3.0

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy Knife Edge as much as Noughts and Crosses, but the first installation of the series is a hard one to beat.

It does start to build a whole new story, so I am looking forward to reading Checkmate!

Feels like more of a linking book, but I think that's based on the fact so much happens in Noughts and Crosses, it kind of needs a link in between.

professional_grandma's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

This was one of those books where you just want to jump in and slap a character. Instead of character development, we got character deterioration where each of our main characters became worse versions of themselves. The end was absolutely crazy as well and I really want to see where this story leads in the next book. 

obsessed_w_books's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25