Naughts & Crosses

It is a classic must-read book that not only sets up an interesting, thought-provoking premise but also grounds us in the thoughts of very different teens and how they find their way to each other under a system designed to keep them apart. Malorie Blackman’s writing is concise and crisp, her gaze unflinching, and yet the book is all heart.

Another well-known book. It has recently been adapted into a TV show (which I’m sure all of us authors would love). I absolutely recommend reading the books before watching the show as they are very different mediums and have their own spins on each. The books feel darker than the TV show, which is something I appreciate. Dystopia shouldn’t be light, the world is filled with darkness and Blackman really captures this element in her series. I love that she flips apartheid but for a modern-day world, showing people what could happen if we carry on as we have been… show more.

This book is a stunner because unlike most alternative histories it has a contemporary setting, imagining a modern British society where Africans have colonised the country and are the dominant racial group and the ‘noughts’ – or white native Britains, are the colonised. The book turns apartheid and colonisation on their heads in a very challenging way. And it’s also a love story between Callum who is a naught, and Sephy who is a Cross – an extreme Romeo and Juliet. And seriously, who doesn’t love a good Romeo and Juliet story, yeah?