Checkmate (Noughts And Crosses)

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I loved this book, it was brilliant! The third book in the Noughts and Crosses quartet definitely lived up to the first two books and in some ways surpassed them.

This is an original, intelligent, perceptive and though-provoking series of books – and whilst squarely aimed at the Young Adult market, it clearly transcends the restrictive boundaries of that genre.

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I found it really sad towards the middle where Callie's thoughts and feelings regarding Callum began to get really negative since we know Callum and all the information Callie received was based on lies and it was just really sad to read. Similarly it was so cute at the beginning when Callie was like seven or so and she had such a positive outlook on the world and believed positive things about Callum. This book continues with the structure of alternating viewpoints, this time with Sephy and her daughter Callie Rose as the main ones, although it doesn't come across as quite as bitty as before perhaps because the alternative viewpoints of Jasmine, Sephy's mother, Meggie, mother of Callum (deceased father of Sephy's child) and Jude, the embittered surviving child of Meggie, are much more "meaty" and central to the book than in the last one. But soon Callie is caught in a trap she can’t get out of – one which will have deadly consequences. It makes perfect sense to me that Sephy would treat her daughter in such a way to keep her independent and 'make her stronger'. Especially because of the incident at the end of 'Knife Edge' when Sephy hugged baby Callie so tightly that she stopped breathing. However by keeping her at arms length Sephy fractured their relationship really badly.

Jon, it's not our place to question the General,' Anna Tenski, the regional commander from the Mid-West, reprimanded quietly. Of course, General,' said Jonathan, not once averting his eyes. 'I want you to know that you can count on me and all I have in any venture you propose.'

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Exhibit B - Putting speech in capital letters is cheating. It's text speak. There's a reason adverbs were invented. Brothers and sisters,' the General began in a practised tone. 'The General Election date has been set. In just over twelve weeks, the country will go to the polls. It's time for all of us Noughts in the Liberation Militia to make our voices heard like never before. Make no mistake, we are being watched. We're being watched by our L.M. brothers and sisters who have given up their freedom or, in too many cases, their lives, in the quest for true equality between Noughts and Crosses. Failure is not an option. In front of each of you is a folder containing your objectives. Each of you has a target which is to be eliminated before the forthcoming election. Some of the targets are strategic buildings, some are our enemies in prominent positions. As regional commanders, you will be in charge of the planning and details.' The General paused to give himself time to fix each commander with his piercing brown-eyed stare. 'I know you won't let me down. None of us in the L.M. can afford to give up this fight until we have social justice and political equality for all Noughts.' There were multiple love triangles in this book for NO REASON. Why is romance just shoved into a story pointlessly? Honestly this series had such potential to be a groundbreaking dystopian masterpiece in the analysis of power play and race in society, and the first book made a good attempt, and from here it’s just unreadable. It just felt like a weird contemporary read with a random suicide-bomber and cancer storyline thrown in for shcok-value. It all felt so cheap and I literally felt nothing for any of these characters. Exhibit C - If you're going to write a book in first person jumping around characters, they need to have an individual voice. They all sound so logical and perfect, especially Sephy's 'mother' voice. She sounds like a generic maternal character who would get about 5 speech lines in a book; she's meant to be the main character. It can get wearing, however. “Sometimes I just feel really tired. Because it does feel like you’re fighting the same battles over and over. I’m in my late 50s and I’m still having the same conversations I had in my teens and 20s. How much patience do you have to have?”

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, it’s so hard to review books in a series. I’m not one for spoilers, so I try to really make it obvious if there’s going to be a spoiler. The trouble with this series is that it’s so damn good I want to speak about it, but I would HATE to spoil it for others. So, as per usual with this series, I’m going to be wonderfully vague. (I apologise!) I'm also personally taking charge of the planning of a major event which will act as a devastating blow to the so-called authorities. It will take place the day before the election. We are all going to play our part in ensuring that this government is toppled.' 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. The room's clean?' the General turned to ask Morgan Green, his personal assistant and right-hand man, who sat, not at the table, but just behind him. Next to Morgan sat Tanya, Morgan's assistant. They were the General's retinue and he was hardly ever seen without one or both of them in tow.

Her mother and father wanted her to experience all the advantages they never had; a quality she reflected in the characters of Callum and Sephy, who see their child Callie as a symbol of Albion’s potential. “They pour all their hopes for the future into Callie, which is what I think my mum and dad did. Their thing was all about education, education, education. It was the key to open any door. And I still believe that. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if it hadn’t been for my love of books when I was a child.” There were ten seats at Dan's dinner party the night he was killed and each guest had their own reasons for wishing him dead.