- Dystopia
- Noughts & Crosses collection
- Ages 13–17
Noughts & Crosses
Part of the collectionNoughts & Crosses→Best for older readers ready for serious, discussion-rich fiction about racism, injustice, love, violence and political power.
- Books1 / 1
- Arcs1
- Span2001
- StatusComplete
The series
At a glance.
Noughts & Crosses is represented in the current database by Malorie Blackman's first novel in the sequence. It is set in an alternate Britain where Crosses, Black people, are the ruling class and Noughts, white people, are systemically oppressed. Sephy Hadley and Callum McGregor's childhood friendship and later love are placed under unbearable pressure by racism, family loyalty, political violence and social control. This is a discussion-heavy teenage book rather than a comfort read: gripping, important and emotionally intense, but unsuitable for younger or sensitive readers without adult awareness.
Best for older readers ready for serious, discussion-rich fiction about racism, injustice, love, violence and political power.
Primary themes
Overall tone
- Dark
- Thought provoking
- Suspenseful
- Bittersweet
The current seeded database contains Noughts & Crosses only. In the wider published sequence, it is the first book and should be read before later titles.
One arc
The shape of the series.
- INarrative arcBook 1 · 2001High sensitivity
Sephy and Callum
A single seeded teenage novel about forbidden love, racism, injustice and political violence in an alternate Britain.
Within the current seeded database, the Noughts & Crosses arc is the first novel alone. It follows Sephy and Callum as their relationship is shaped and damaged by a society built on racial hierarchy, family loyalty, protest, violence and state power. The book's value is enormous as a discussion starter and a piece of teenage fiction, but the sensitivity is high by this database's standards. Death, racism, political conflict and emotional devastation are not incidental; they are central to the reading experience.
Fit check
Right for your reader?
Where the series lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- 15
- 17
- 19
- Best fit · 13–17
- Read aloud · 13–17
- Independent · 12–17
Reluctant-reader friendliness
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Adult crossover
High
Grows with the reader
Designed to
Sensitivity envelope
High overall, and consistent.
Content notes
- Death of character
- Racism or discrimination
- Scary imagery
- Violence
- War or conflict
Where it sits
In conversation with other series.
Similar in feel
Different shelves, same wavelength.
- The Hate U Give →
- The Hunger Games →
Read this after…
Series that pick up where Noughts & Crosses leaves off.
- Knife Edge →
About the author