Noughts & Crosses

by Malorie Blackman

First published by Doubleday, 2001

Corgi edition published in 2002

Question: Throughout the course of the novel, in the McGregor family, all members besides the mother slowly die away. The first child to die is Callum's older sister, Lynette. What was she suffering from and why? How does Callum know that her death was not truly an accident and what were her reasons for dying? Does Callum approve of her commiting suicide? Does his opinion change throughout the novel?

Response: Three years before the beginning of the novel, Lynette is kidnapped because she was dating a man who was a Cross. In this story, noughts are treated much worse than Crosses, because they have white skin colour whilst the Crosses are dark. This relationship is similar to the relationship between Callum and Sephy. I believe the reason Malorie Blackman wrote this book was to raise awareness about racial discrimination, showing that it could've been easily the black population who were discriminating against the white population. She also shows how injust racism is through Callum and Sephy as well as Lynette and her boyfriend Jed, who was murdered during the kidnapping.

Three years after the kidnapping, Lynette seems to live in her own world. She is quiet and doesn't talk very much, and never leaves her house. Sometimes, she has small fits where she believes to be a Cross, because she has simply gone a bit crazy because of the loss of Jed. Jude, Callum's older brother, and Callum, are both unaware of the kidnapping, so they think she has gone completely mad. Jude doesn't care if she hears him, he yells straight at her face that she IS a nought, just look at her pale skin.

After some time, Lynette return to reality, and she can't cope with it. She doesn't want to live in a world where she will never be good enough because she is just a nought. The first time she leaves her house in a very long time, policeman come to tell the McGregor family there has been an accident; that Lynette walked into a bus. He says it was harmless though, that she died peacefully.

Callum is devastated. He had a very strong relationship with Lynette before and after the accident. When he returns to his room, he found an envelope addressed to him. Lynette wrote a letter saying her final goodbyes to Callum. She expresses her views on the injustice of racial discrimination and how she will be commiting suicide. 'I don't want to live in a world where what I am isn't good enough because I am a nought and I will always be and nothing will ever change that.' She says sh'll make it look like an accident though, so she won't shame her mum and dad.