Book Details
Format
Paperback
Pages
496
Language
English
Published
Feb 6, 2020
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN-10
0241388392
ISBN-13
9780241388396
Description
** SOON TO BE A MAJOR NEW BBC TV SERIES **
'Unforgettable' Guardian
'Stop it! You're all behaving like animals! Worse than animals - like blankers!'
Sephy is a Cross: dark-skinned and beautiful, she lives a life of privilege and power. But she's lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her.
Callum is a nought: pale-skinned and poor, he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life.
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.
Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other.
But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . . . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come.
Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.
'The most original book I've ever read' Benjamin Zephaniah
'Unforgettable' Guardian
'Stop it! You're all behaving like animals! Worse than animals - like blankers!'
Sephy is a Cross: dark-skinned and beautiful, she lives a life of privilege and power. But she's lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her.
Callum is a nought: pale-skinned and poor, he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life.
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.
Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other.
But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . . . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come.
Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.
'The most original book I've ever read' Benjamin Zephaniah
Reviews
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Ik heb het boek gelezen voor een uni opdracht en het was best lastig om er eerst in te komen. Maar dit boek heeft me wel geraakt. Voornamelijk over kolonialisme en racisme. Een paar kleine details waren niet echt mijn ding, maar overall vond ik het een goed boek.
January 30th 2026
Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses series is a powerful and emotional exploration of racism, injustice, and forbidden love, set in an alternate world where societal roles are sharply reversed. Through the story of Sephy and Callum, and later generations affected by their choices, themes like prejudice, privilege, and the lasting impact of oppression with honesty and intensity. It has bold characters with intense emotions challenging society.
November 20th 2025