It took me by surprise however at the same time it didn't shock me to see (or rather read) Jude do something like that; he is a very hateful person and it's very true to his character that he assaulted her in this situation. Whilst, I can appreciate that the beauty industry has come a long way, this book based on the structural racism within our current society, shows just how much race plays a part in our everyday life. Sephy recognized one of the men in the Liberation Militia as working for her father, Andrew Dawn and now Jude is looking for a way to get him found out and avenge his brother. And yet, it's cruel, almost unbearable at times, and it's free of romance, Checkmate will hopefully be less sinister, although I'm aware the setting isn't meant to be pleasant. For example, in Blackman’s world Nought music is seen as offensive and all about sex, in much the same way as black music is treated by some people today.

Or how Nought women get implants to make their lips fuller or spend longer in sunbeds to make themselves darker.

It really showed how the characters thought in their own personal ways and because of how it felt different, it made them even more believable. The chapter style in this book was an improvement on the first, the chapters were longer which made the story feel less disjointed. A highly original novel in verse, Cloud Busting depicts the heartrending struggle of two boys who are trying to maintain their friendship under the stress of peer pressure and bullying. Book 2 in the dystopian series in which a 360 degree turnaround focuses light from a different angle on racism, with the setting an alternative history in which Crosses, black people, have always been the dominant civilising force, with white people as former slaves only emancipated fifty years before the timeline of the story.

Something that struck me while writing this review is that this book (and the first) are devoid of any intelligent characters. And while I get that we’re dealing with the aftermath of the conclusion of book one, I feel that this doesn’t do it justice. At the start of 'Knife Edge', however, she is in a charity hospital where she had given birth to a baby girl and finds that, far from hating the child, she is now bonding to her with a fierce and protective love. So to see Malorie Blackman flip it on it’s head and integrate it so well into her own fictional world, is really incredible. For example in a Cross bar, Sephy is allowed to go through the front door but her bandmates are only allowed through the back whilst in a Nought bar the roles are reversed.I loved every narrative as you really do get a glimpse into the characters,like Jude who I even began to like for a short while. Although, we know how volatile and angry Jude was from book one, here we got to see it up close and personal.

This book shows us Jude's character in more detail than Noughts and Crosses did, because we have a lot of chapters from his POV, and we see him falling in love - with a Cross.Sephy is such an incredible character - how she thinks about everything, how she acts about everything. What I liked in particular about this second novel is Blackman isn’t afraid to move the timeline on from the first novel and actually the characters have grown up from where they were in Noughts and Crosses. As I mentioned earlier, Noughts and Crosses is its own complete story and therefore this book takes the story to completely new heights. AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MY VISION STARTED TO GET BLURRY AND THE GATEWAY OF TEARS JUST FLOODED OUT AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TRIED- I COULDN'T STOP THEM!