Crossfire: Malorie Blackman (Noughts and Crosses, 5)

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Kamal Hadley: the main antagonist of Noughts & Crosses and a secondary antagonist in Knife Edge. A powerful, avaricious Cross Home Office Minister who will do anything to gain more power and influence. He is the father of Sephy and Minerva and the grandfather of Callie Rose, but disowns Sephy and Callie Rose. He divorces Jasmine after an unhappy marriage and remarries. A letter sent by Jasmine sent to the media ends his stint in power. She is also a writer whose own life has been shaped by books, from her childhood in south London, the daughter of parents who moved to Britain from Barbados as part of the Windrush Generation, and who experienced a childhood that was both wonderful and marred by the everyday racism and bigotry of the era. She was told she could not apply to study her first love, literature, at university, in spite of her academic potential, but found a way to books and to a life in writing against a number of obstacles. The Deadly Dare Mysteries (contents: Deadly Dare, 1995, Computer Ghost, 1997, Lie Detectives , 1998; illustrated by Neil Chapman), Corgi Children's, 2005, ISBN 0-552-55353-0

The two meet again in Heathcroft, a high school for Crosses that now accepts the best-performing Noughts. Sephy is overjoyed to see Callum in her class, but most of her classmates do not accept her association with a Nought. Despite this, she deepens her relationship with Callum, and even sits at a table with Noughts, upsetting Callum, though they eventually make up. Minerva "Minnie" Hadley: Sephy's older sister; she and Sephy are not very close, as Minnie is often shown to be quite selfish. She marries an affluent Cross, Zuri, and they have a son, Taj. Jasmine Dharma Ninah Adyebe-Hadley: Sephy and Minerva's mother, who became an alcoholic. She used to be good friends with Ryan and Meggie McGregor, as Meggie used to work for her. She is diagnosed with breast cancer and, drinking less than before, steals and activates Jude's bomb, killing her and Jude in the process to protect Sephy and Callie Rose.Tied into this story are the characters of Libby and Troy. Libby has lived her life surrounded by hatred and contempt. She gets some rather unexpected news, but isn’t prepared for what that brings. Troy is Callie’s much younger brother. His family links also place him in danger. When the two students are kidnapped we can’t help but wonder how much family ties will bind people to a decision. Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014 . Retrieved 26 August 2014. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Awards and Prizes". Kids at Random House. Random House Children's Books . Retrieved 23 March 2007. 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. Callum's brother, Jude, blames Sephy for the terrible losses his family has suffered and is determined to destroy Sephy's life by any means necessary. He meets Cara, a Cross, and befriends her to access her money. After spending a lot of time with her, he begins to fall in love with her, despite his hatred of Crosses. Frustrated and confused with his feelings for a Cross, Jude beats her severely and runs off with a large amount of money. After Cara dies in the hospital, Jude is eventually arrested and charged with Cara's murder. He's almost guaranteed to receive the death sentence due to the wealth of evidence against him.

Troy - the son of Sephy and Nathan, still a teenager when he is abducted. We see how he’s just as strong as his mother and sister, and a great character Join two intrepid adventurers as their imaginations transform their house into a wild wonderland - and their big brother becomes a mighty monster. A joy to read-aloud with its cumulative refrain, and full of funny, relatable characters, this is a contemporary celebration of creativity, fantasy and family. However, just when you get immersed in the novel, it ends on a massive cliff-hanger, and there are no resolutions to the stories started in the book, which is frustrating. I was so caught up in the story that I hadn't expected it to end at that point, and eagerly await the follow-up. After her friend Tobey calls her a terrorist's daughter, Callie struggles with discovering the real career of her father: he was considered a terrorist. She becomes angry with her mother for hiding the truth and decides to follow in the path of her father, cutting off her friendship with Tobey despite his attempts to apologise.

The novel works as an entry point into the series, as new characters are brought in to carry storylines, and older characters are written with enough historical detail that you can follow their stories without having read the previous books in the series. Recaps of previous events are woven into Crossfire, in a way that allowed me to follow what was happening. Humming Through My Fingers" in the multi-author collection Shining On: A Collection of Stories in Aid of the Teen Cancer Trust, Picadilly Press, 2006, ISBN 1-85340-893-X