Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis: Callum is a Nought - an inferior white citizen in a society controlled by the black crosses.

Sephy is a Cross - and the daughter of one of the most powerful, ruthless men in the country.

In their hostile, violent world, Noughts and Crosses simply don't mix. But when Sephy and Callum's friendship grows into passionate love, their're determined to find a way to be together.

My Review - I wasn't sure what rating to give this book. I did enjoy reading it overall and I thought the issues dealt with were really well done. BUT there were quite a few things that I didn't enjoy about the book and these things lowered the rating for me.

We'll start with the negatives. I hated Sephy. Seriously hated her. She's younger than Callum by a few months yet she acts like it's a few years. Callum explains why they can't act like friends at school (for obvious reasons) yet she does it anyway and gets mad when Callum doesn't help. She does kind of develop by the end of the book but for the majority of the book I couldn't connect to her character at all and just wanted to slap some sense into her.

The star-crossed lovers element also didn't work for me. The romance seemed to be thrown in every so often and, because of this, I couldn't really imagine the relationship between the characters. One of the final 'twists' in the book also felt like it had just been thrown in to try and make things more interesting and I didn't really invest in it - the 'twist' in question has been a little overdone in my opinion and it really didn't work here.

I think the book would have been better if it had focused more on the story between the two mothers that we see in the prologue - I thought the book would revolve around that incident but instead, it's explained in the prologue and then left alone, so I didn't really understand the relevance of having X amount of pages dedicated to it at the start because it didn't really help the book much, other than to show why Callum and Sephy aren't allowed to be together and even then, I felt it didn't really do that.

On the positive side, I did like how the elements of racial prejudice was dealt with in this book; it added a really unique twist to the whole plot. I would have liked the story to include more details on the prejudice because by the time I'd finished the book I'd forgotten that one character was white and one wasn't. But, apart from that, the issues the book dealt were what really made the book interesting and, by the authors note at the start, the issues were really personal to the author and you could tell she felt strongly about the issues.

I'd heard a lot of amazing things about this book so I was disappointed overall by what I found. It's an OK book but I won't be buying the rest in the series. I thought the issues that were dealt with were really good but overall, the book lacked the spark between the characters and the plot. For me, dystopian novels such as Divergent and the Hunger Games are 10,000 times better and more entertaining. Sorry Malorie Blackman - but this just wasn't for me.

I'd really love to hear what you think about this book, or any of the books that I review, or to recommend books to read!

Image from http://artsydoesit.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/noughts-and-crosses-malorie-blackman-a-review/ - no copyright intended

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4.5 stars
Synopsis: Every year, the Scorpio Races are run on the beach of Skarmouth. Every year, the sea washes blood from the sand. To race the savage water horses can mean death, but the irresistible. When Puck enters the races to save her family, she is drawn to the mysterious Sean, the only person on the island capable of taming the beasts. Even if they stay together, can they stay alive?

 

My review: I loved this book! I haven't yet read the 'Shiver' trilogy (I'm going to I promise!) but I've read so many series and trilogies lately I wanted to indulge in some stand alones for a little while. With all the hype over the Shiver trilogy I was intrigued as to whether this would live up to all the buzz and Oh My Gosh it did!

 

I loved the whole idea of the races; it's unusual and different and you could tell Maggie had really thought about the whole process of them, from sign-up to the actual races the whole thing felt alive and real.

The water horses (or capall uisce/cappaill uisce as they are known in the book) added to the originality of the book and I loved the idea of capturing the horses from the sea each year. The way the water horses are savage beings from the stormy sea is really unique and shows you that you can't trust anyone in the races - especially the horses.

 

The characters are really well written. I love that Puck isn't like so many of the female protagonists I've read recently who are whiny and a little bit stupid, she just gets the job done. She takes part in the races to try and keep her family together and, I think, to prove to herself that even if her family is torn apart, she is strong enough to hold what's left of it together. Sean is the mysterious horse whisperer who has won the races for the past few years. Something you'll learn about me, I fall in love with the male protagonists very easily and Sean is no different. Again, he does what he has to do to survive although he takes part in the races not just for the money but also for the thrill of the races.

 

If I can't have Sean though, I would settle for Corr. I adore the connection Sean has with his water horse and how, although Corr is as dangerous as the other water horses, both horse and rider love each other and will do anything to protect the other which is all kinds of sweet. Seriously, if Sean is unavailable, I'll take Corr (or both, preferably both!)

 

The only reason I gave this book a 4.5 rating was I felt the ending was kind of sudden and a little confusing. Don't get me wrong, it's a satisfying ending but I felt it could have been done differently - maybe fleshed out more and explained a little bit better. I kind of understood why it ended the way it did - I don't know maybe you guys will disagree with me if you read it.

 

Apart from that, the book is incredible and I can't do it justice without giving everything away! If you're wary of starting the Shiver trilogy, start with The Scorpio Races - it's a brilliant way to introduce yourself to Maggie Stiefvater's writing.

 

Image from http://videosnpictures.com/pictures/dirgefornovember.com - no copyright intended