He resists the chance to earn some extra cash by making deliveries for the Nought kingpin thug McAuley, even though he desperately wants the money.

I didn't really feel as though this story was connected with the three books before it and I felt some what disconnected.I did however find the resolution of that plot line rather unbelievable given the sudden conscience it required one character to develop, and perhaps the actual ending is a bit too perfect. I 100% recommend checking out this series which starts with the first book, Noughts and Crosses, and if you end up enjoying them enough to reach this book in the series, I'd recommend stopping there and giving this book a miss.

Malorie Blackman's ground-breaking, award winning series charts the lives and loves of generations as it takes on race and equality with breathtaking drama and heart wrenching sadness. Partly because I feel that this book is good and partly because I feel that being part of the ‘Noughts and Crosses’ series ruins it. The story is also quite a page turner with tension rising as Tobey becomes more and more enveloped in danger from all sides and it is unclear how he can ever prevail. It’s such a shame because the original premise so was stellar, I think as a standalone Noughts and Crosses with a bit more work could’ve been amazing.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. The main character is sleeping the whole entire book and the prince is left to save her, only the fairies have left him locked up for a couple of years, leaving him to sit there doing nothing. What Malorie Blackman has always done so brilliantly is put the minority front and centre, both in society and politics. I will say that this book is particularly action packed with some interesting events which add to the very dramatic story. I don't regret reading Double Cross, but at the same time, I'm not sure that, if I'd never managed to find a copy, I would have been completely missing out.

But when he's offered the chance to earn some extra money, how much could it hurt to just this once say 'yes'? Putting it in an alternative reality is like taking something that’s meant to cause damage and wrapping it in bubble wrap. Now post emancipation, it is the non-black population who are distinctly disadvantaged and impoverished in this alternative future society which is ruled and controlled by the dominating blacks (Crosses). Also if you're reading this review after having already read the previous three books in this series and you want to read this as it seems a few things from there may be resolved in this one, they aren't.

For a newcomer to the series it does take a bit of effort to piece the people and past events together, but it's all worth it. Blackman "gets" people, especially young adults, in all their tentativeness, determination and energy. 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. Or was that supposed to be a cutesy angle: best friends in love with each other, who go straight from kissing to doing the down and dirty.

Whilst ‘Double Cross’ is well-written and ostensibly does add value to the series, it does feel ultimately a little superfluous and does not provide the same impact as the preceding three novels. To me there were no powerful scenes that touched me or shocked me, and as the other three books contained these points I suppose I was expecting it. She suffers from a horrible disease which has symptoms of bitchiness, moodiness and erratic behavior. A fast paced thriller, Double Cross also takes a thoughtful look at the escalating violence of contemporary society. I think that if I'd carried on reading the books in a closer concession I probably would have enjoyed it a little bit more, but the writing and the storyline is always so easy to jump back into that you soon pick up the connection with the characters that you had from the first couple of books.It did take me a long while to read as up until 3/4 of the way through, I wasn't really feeling the urge to read it, and it then ended up bottling into a very long time. However I thoroughly enjoyed it and was kept gripped and entertained throughout, just as I was with the other books in the series.