Tobey wants a better life - for him and for Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the violent gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some extra money, how much could it hurt to just this once say 'yes'? In 2008 Malorie received an OBE for her services to children's literature, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children's Laureate. Most recently, Malorie wrote for the Doctor Who series on BBC One, and the fifth novel in her Noughts & Crosses series, Crossfire, is published by Penguin Random House Children's. 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. Callie Rose is dealing with her guilt over the death of her grandmother, Jasmine, her mother Sephy's mother, blown up by the bomb which Callie had been persuaded to make by her terrorist uncle in book 3 of the series. She also fears that he escaped the blast given that the person killed with Jasmine is finally identified as someone she has never heard of and she blames herself for killing an innocent man. And when something happens to her, Tobey goes all out to get revenge and nullify the threats hanging over her and his family. Despite the eventual happy ending, there is still the unintended consequence that thanks to his efforts, the crime empire is now united under the control of one man.

Tobey wants a better life – for him and for Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the violent gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some extra money, how much could it hurt to just this once say 'yes'? At the heart of this pacy novel is a young man struggling to flourish and do the right thing rather than simply survive in a world where "the harder life got . . . the more profit there was to be made". Tobey's deepening involvement with the two warring gangs and his attempts to play them off against each other cause him to bloody his hands. He watches himself becoming what he despises with a chilling awareness that is as exciting as it is poignant. Although the last 2 books to this series probably aren't my favourites, I feel that the conclusion to them was everything I wanted and definitely made me realise I was more connected to the characters than I thought. Most of it is written through the eyes of Tobey and although we do get to hear Callie Rose at the very beginning and then at the end, it is brief. Sadly, we never hear from Sephy, which was a great disappointment. She was the original character and it would have been nice to find out how her life was turning out and if she was happy. I liked Tobey's character, but I didn't care about him as much as I had Sephy and Callum. There is also no alternating voices with each chapter, which I thought was a shame as the format had worked so well in the previous books.Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other. Dan – He’s not the biggest character in the story but he is one of the most significant. He’s a total tool. I felt that not even his redemption part was enough for me. He just didn’t seem sincere. I felt like he might’ve had his own reasons for doing what he did. But we’ll never know (hopefully. I don’t want to! I want to imagine. This is not a plea for a book 5.) He’s a shady guy, if I met him I’d cross the road. Or knee him where it hurts if he tried anything... and I think he would.

The problem I think I had, which colored my reading of Double Cross, is that the third book in what was supposed to be a trilogy ended with threads woven in and it was a nice, natural close to a satisfying story. Here, the story was extended beyond its natural lifespan and it felt somewhat forced. Callie Rose knows all about the danger of saying ‘yes’. She knows about terrible mistakes, and violence and family feuds, and the fierce divide between Noughts and Crosses.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. If this had been a stand alone novel I'd have given it four stars. I'm taking away a star because it's an unnecessary part of the series. Full review in the next few days. Tobey wants a better life - for him and his girlfriend Callie Rose. He wants nothing to do with the gangs that rule the world he lives in. But when he's offered the chance to earn some money just for making a few 'deliveries', just this once, would it hurt to say 'yes'? Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Callie Rose knows all about the danger of saying 'yes'. She knows about terrible mistakes, and violence and revenge, and the fierce divide between Noughts and Crosses.

Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks. Home > No one could begin to guess at the depth of the hatred I held for Sephy Hadley. Everything began with her and my brother. And that’s how it would end. It tales on tough topics like knife crime, drug addiction etc. which I think is important but the execution was terrible. Mild spoiler here but the drug addiction plotline was so poorly done and barely touched on, I didn’t feel any emotion at all it felt so shallow. I also don’t believe a teenage boy could’ve outsmarted several gangs but okay cool I guess he did.

Callum is a nought: he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life. Tobey – Tobey is Callie-Rose’s childhood friend. He’s also our MC. This is the first time we’ve had his POV and at first I thought that he was more than a bit of a jerk. As much as he wants us to think that his actions are purely driven by events that happen to those around him, it’s a very selfish reason that means events snowball out of control in the first place. However I like that he tried to rectify his mistakes and that on the inside he was alright. Did I like him? I’m not entirely sure, I’m edging towards no to be honest. He did too little too late for me. He was incredibly realistic though, just the sort of person you can see getting caught up in the events of ‘Double Cross’. But soon Callie is caught in a trap she can’t get out of – one which will have deadly consequences. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. These are increasingly important books to be read by all – particularly in view of the current political climate and the ever more disturbing rise in the so-called ‘alt right’ / white supremacist groups in certain parts of the world.

Double Cross is the final book in the Naughts and Crosses series and it is an amazing way to end it. The book is based on Toby who is friends with Callie and how revenge can make a person do things that they would never do otherwise. After Callie gets shot in the crossfire of two big gangs in their neighborhood Toby takes it upon himself to revenge her and try to take them down from the inside out. 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.

LoveReading4Kids Says

The plot wasn't bad, there are so many different sociological aspects that could be examined in the context of this series, but it was quite disjointed compared to the clear lineal structure between the first three novels. Just like the other books in this series it’s easy to read and I flew through it. Something about this story line just keeps me reading. This book follows a character who is completely irrelevant in the rest of the books and his story was very uninteresting and didn't leave me with anything.