Checkmate (Noughts And Crosses)

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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.” This book seemed vaguely familiar when I read it? But if I have read it before, I'd completely forgotten everything that happened in it. Which says volumes about how thrilling a story it was...

Sephy Hadley was one of the guests that night. Haunted by the idea that she didn't do enough to stop the death of her first love, Callum McGregor, Sephy will not sit quietly and wait for accusations to fall on her now. She has her children to protect. 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. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - The dialogue tended towards sappy a lot of the time. In real life people simply don't sit around philosophising and having long conversations where they manage to say NOTHING AT ALL in several hours. The bits with Sephy and Callie in the cellar were so drawn out.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. Although I don't think Jude's actions are justified as there is nothing in the world that justifies terrorism, I find it really unfortunate that he ended up in his current position due to such strong injustices in his from such a young age. His whole hatred towards the way things were stemmed from him not being able to continue getting his education after getting a glimpse of it and loving it more than anything while he had it. It's like if you deny a human his basic human rights, how can you expect him to have any humanity left? It makes sense now as well of the little bits of Jude's resentment towards Callum in the first book for taking school for granted. I really wished Jude would be redeemed in some tiny form at least... I suppose he was slightly in the sense that he finally realised that Cara Imega was his ultimate love, despite being a cross. He realised that he could and in fact did love a cross for who she was and her being a cross didn't contribute to her personally. It's what's inside that matters as some clever person once said. Exhibit B - Putting speech in capital letters is cheating. It's text speak. There's a reason adverbs were invented.

It is hard to think of a simpler or more brilliant premise to explain racism to children than Noughts & Crosses, or a more affecting story for those experiencing it. The first book made the BBC’s Big Read poll of the UK’s all-time favourite books, and was later named one of the best books of the 21st century by this paper. It has become a play and, recently, a BBC TV series (with a cameo from uberfan Stormzy). And another groundbreaking children's novelist R.J Palacio, author of Wonder, shares her own childhood favourite in The Book I'd Never Lend. 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.

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The Noughts & Crosses series are still my favourite books of all time and showed me just how amazing story-telling could be' STORMZY Jon, it's not our place to question the General,' Anna Tenski, the regional commander from the Mid-West, reprimanded quietly. The General watched as his Liberation Militia commanders took their places around the imposing mahogany dining table. He studied each of them in turn. Years of self-discipline honed from childhood made it easy for him to keep his expression neutral. Six men and three women finally settled and looked at him in respectful anticipation. Most of those around the table were older than the General who, though in his late thirties, was the youngest leader the L.M. had ever had. No, Anna,' said the General evenly. 'This isn't a dictatorship. If Jon or anyone else for that matter has something to say then I encourage them to say it. I hope each of you feels able to express your ideas and voice your concerns to me at any time. I value your input.' The General turned to face Jon directly. 'It's better that you don't know, Jon. You're a valued member of my council and I know you and everyone else here would rather die than betray your brothers and sisters in the L.M., but what I have in mind will make every one of us fugitives for the rest of our lives. The Secret Service will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to hunt us down. Only two people will be involved in the job I have in mind, myself and one other. And it'll be carried out on that basis.'