- Dystopia
- Chapter Books
- Ages 13–17
The shape of it
The shape of this universe.
Noughts & Crosses is Malorie Blackman's landmark alternate-history dystopian novel about Sephy, a Cross, and Callum, a Nought, growing up in a society where Black Crosses hold power and white Noughts are the oppressed underclass. The current seeded database contains only the first book, but that book is substantial enough to stand as a major teenage recommendation: political, romantic, devastating and frequently taught in UK schools. It is not a middle-grade adventure series; it is upper-teen fiction with racism, violence, death, injustice and moral pressure at its centre.
A powerful, devastating teenage classic about racism, forbidden love, injustice and a society divided by power.
Primary themes
Tone palette
- Dark
- Thought provoking
- Suspenseful
- Bittersweet
The series
One way in.
Cultural footprint
A shelf of evidence.
What Noughts & Crosses has done
- TV adaptation
- Bbc adaptation
- Major award winner
- In school curriculum
Cultural ubiquity
3/ 5Well-known to people who know the room.
Sensitivity
High, and collection-wide.
Content notes
- Death of character
- Racism or discrimination
- Scary imagery
- Violence
- War or conflict
Across the collection
All 1 book.
About the creator