Checkmate
£8.99
Can the future ever erase the past? Rose has a Cross mother and a Nought father in a society where the pale-skinned Noughts are treated as inferiors and those with dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices. Sephy, her mother, has told Rose virtually nothing about her father, but as Rose grows into a young adult, she unexpectedly discovers the truth about her parentage and becomes determined to find out more. But her father’s family has a complicated history – one tied up with the fight for equality for the Nought population. And as Rose takes her first steps away from Sephy and into this world, she finds herself drawn inexorably into more and more danger. Suddenly it’s a game of very high stakes that can only have one winner.
‘The Noughts & Crosses series are still my favourite books of all time and showed me just how amazing story-telling could be’ STORMZY
‘I grew up reading her. It was one of the few books about black people, so I felt seen.’ CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS
‘The most original book I’ve ever read’ BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH
“Malorie Blackman is absolutely amazing … [Noughts & Crosses] really spoke to me, especially as a woman of dual heritage.” ZAWE ASHTON
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My name is Callie Rose.
My mum is a Cross – one of the so-called ruling elite.
My dad was a Nought. My dad was a murderer. My dad was a terrorist.
These facts are the only things that are mine and real. So I don’t mind so much that I’m leaving it all behind. There’s nothing here worth 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 dual heritage in a world where bitter prejudice divides Noughts and Crosses has meant she’s an outsider wherever she turns.
Enter Jude McGregor. 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.
Voted as one of the UK’s best-loved books, Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses series is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.
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