Double Cross: Book 4 (Noughts And Crosses)

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However I thoroughly enjoyed it and was kept gripped and entertained throughout, just as I was with the other books in the series. I still found this book gripping but feel it lacked the whole theme running through the other books. I didn't really feel as though this story was connected with the three books before it and I felt some what disconnected. In 2008 Malorie received an OBE for her services to children's literature, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children's Laureate. So, I've read the whole series and, for the most part, I loved it (I certainly loved the first three books).

As for Tobey, he's a colourless kid, a "Blanker", who's made it into the decent school and is determined to get out and up into a better life. It’s such a shame because the original premise so was stellar, I think as a standalone Noughts and Crosses with a bit more work could’ve been amazing. However I don’t think it adds anything significant to the overall story as a result it feels quite removed from the original book in the series. I don’t want to say much about the story, as it is the end of a series, which I really do not want to spoil. He resists the chance to earn some extra cash by making deliveries for the Nought kingpin thug McAuley, even though he desperately wants the money.

So I think his death at the end of the last book was perfect, devastating but perfect for the character and clearly the end he was always running towards. I 100% recommend checking out this series which starts with the first book, Noughts and Crosses, and if you end up enjoying them enough to reach this book in the series, I'd recommend stopping there and giving this book a miss. I hint at the was only because I first read her books, including the first three in this series when I was teenager (way way back) but I can't seem to get back into them as an adult. Double Cross is the final book in the Naughts and Crosses series and it is an amazing way to end it. On the whole I'm glad I read it, and it wasn't a bad experience, more of a passive one as I relived previous times.

I hear this book was an afterthought anyway and this series was originally going to be the first three books which is how I choose to view them having read this. The plot wasn't bad, there are so many different sociological aspects that could be examined in the context of this series, but it was quite disjointed compared to the clear lineal structure between the first three novels.To me there were no powerful scenes that touched me or shocked me, and as the other three books contained these points I suppose I was expecting it. Not that her writing is inaccessible to adults, just for me it was harder to go back to the point where I left off in this continuing story.

Most of the story is concentrated on Tobey and his poor judgment, which often made me want to climb into the pages just to smack him. She knows about terrible mistakes, and violence and family feuds, and the fierce divide between Noughts and Crosses. Double Cross is the fourth, and to my knowledge, the final book in Malorie Blackman’s hard-hitting Noughts and Crosses series. This is the first time we’ve had his POV and at first I thought that he was more than a bit of a jerk. And yet there is always the opportunity for something humane to lead him out of the tunnel of betrayal and violence.

There is also no alternating voices with each chapter, which I thought was a shame as the format had worked so well in the previous books. I started reading this series a couple of years ago and only in the last month or so decided to pick the last 2 books up and actually finish a series for once. I was mostly confused as to why I needed to read this as the ending for Checkmate left everything on good terms however, I now regret thinkin this and I am very glad that I have read it. It did take me a long while to read as up until 3/4 of the way through, I wasn't really feeling the urge to read it, and it then ended up bottling into a very long time. I think many people don’t realise that this book does have four instalments and that’s because Checkmate seemingly wraps up the story.

I did enjoy the story but I feel it would have been better as a stand alone and not associated with the series. I give it a full 5 stars for the happy ending at the end, making all our tears throughout the series change into smiles.

I can get why it was a good idea to market this as part of the series but for me it doesn’t work like that and that makes me sad. At the heart of this pacy novel is a young man struggling to flourish and do the right thing rather than simply survive in a world where "the harder life got . Thrilling and thoughtful, Double Cross adds a fourth instalment to Malorie Blackman’s acclaimed Noughts and Crosses sequence.