Noughts and Crosses Books In Order

Publication Order of Betsey Biggalow Books

The “Noughts and Crosses” series by Malorie Blackman is from the young adult genre and is set in a dystopian fictional world. This series reverses the way that things actually happened in this world. It takes the way that whites enslaved the blacks and envisions a world where the blacks enslaved the whites. It includes novels and a novella. “Noughts and Crosses” is a critically acclaimed series of novels.

This is a world that features an alternate universe where Pangaea is still intact and humans evolved from there. The barriers are gone, and the Africans are able to develop better technology and have better organization over all of the Europeans. In this world, the Europeans became the slaves of the Africans, rather than the other way around.

When the first novel starts, the end to slavery has begun, but there is still a segregation that is along the same lines of Jim-Crow that keeps the Crosses in control over the Noughts. The Crosses are the blacks and the Noughts, who are the whites.

The fact that all of the nations are contained in a single continent means that everyone must cooperate with one another. This is due to all the nations being close together and there is a general lack of natural defenses.

There is something in this series that is a lot like the European Union in terms of its power called Pangaean Economic Community. It is like the United Nations in terms of scope. The Pangaean Economic Community has been playing an active role in bringing about change in the world so that there is equality to go around.

Persephone Mira Hadley (referred to by her nickname, Sephy) is from the Cross side of things. Her father is Kamal, and is a wealthy politician. Her mother, Jasmine, hired Meggie McGregor to watch Sephy as a child and be her nanny. It is here that she met Callum, and the two forged a lasting friendship together. The two’s friendship is not something that most like a whole lot, and so they have to keep their friendship a secret.

Later, Jasmine fired Meggie because she was unable to provide her with an alibi when Sephy’s father accused her of sleeping with another man.

“Noughts and Crosses” is the first novel in the “Noughts and Crosses” series by Malorie Blackman that was released in 2001. Sephy is a Cross, a dark skinned ruling class. Callum is a colorless member from the underclass in this world who were once the slaves of the Crosses. Callum and Sephy are friends, and have been since early in their childhood, but that is as far as things can go. Noughts and Crosses do not mix. That is just how things are in this world. There is a lot of prejudice and mistrust, with terrorist activity of the violent sort in this world. That being said, a romance begins to take form between Callum and Sephy. It is going to lead them both into horrible and terrible danger. Is there any way that these two kids can be together? Any way at all?

Fans of the novel found that they could not tear their minds away from other things that they were doing and just had to keep reading about the characters in this book. Readers feel like they are able to get to know the characters here and that they are fast friends. Some liked that even though the novel is set in the present, the feeling or atmosphere that the book has has a primitive tinge to it. This novel is one that will tear your heart out while you read it. This novel left some speechless, after they cried for just about the entire novel. Readers did not just enjoy the novel, but they were moved by it, too. This novel hurts some to read, as you get to see some of the awful things that people can do to other people. That are really just like them, even if they care not to admit it.

“Knife Edge” is the second novel in the “Noughts and Crosses” series by Malorie Blackman that was released in the year 2003. Sephy’s daughter has a Nought for a father, named Callum. Callum has been executed for terrorism. Jude, his brother, is still bitter and he blames her for all the bad things that have happened to his family. He wants revenge against her. His life hangs on, but just barely. She does not like him all that much, but she may have to this time. Is Sephy going to have to pick a side in this fight?

Fans of the novel found that they could not put the novel down, and were able to read the entire thing in just one sitting. Blackman is an incredible writer, and takes you into the world with ease and make you feel everything deep down in your heart with every scene of the novel. The characters are well drawn and complex, like real people are. Even the worst characters, readers felt pity for them. There is an unpredictable story here that allows you to see things from different peoples’s point of view. It shows that even though this is a fictional world, readers will still be given something to think about and shown as bad as things are, they could be worse for them. And if certain people did not have it so good, they may see that what they do is not as good as they think it is. This series of novels is not something that you just read and enjoy, but it is something that you will wind up thinking about. Even after you have finished it.

In 2002, she won three awards alone for this series. It won Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year, Sheffield Children’s Book Award, and Red House Children’s Book Award. This is for the first book in the series, “Noughts and Crosses”. Wirral gave it its Paperback of the Year Award for the “Knife Edge” book. This is to say that the books in this series have done well when it comes to being nominated for or winning awards.