Scan barcode
A review by diaspora_reader
Checkmate by Malorie Blackman
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 I loved reading her become apathatic and withdrawn, simply because I love the woman she is as a result of all of her pain.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.