Sephy is a Cross -- a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Naught -- a "colorless" member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood, but that's as far as it can go. In their world, Naughts and Crosses simply don't mix. Callum is a naught-a second-class citizen in a world run by the ruling Crosses. Sephy is a Cross, daughter of the man slated to become prime minister. In their world, white naughts and black Crosses simply don't mix. As those closest to them try to force them apart, Callum and Sephy are still determined to be together. Then Callum overhears his father and brother's terrorist plot to bomb a shopping mall. Callum knows Sephy is there, and he barely guides her out before the explosion. Now Sephy may be alive, but Callum has been caught on camera-and Sephy's father will stop at nothing to see him hanged, no matter what it means for his daughter's heart. In this tightly plotted thriller, UK sensation Malorie Blackman challenges our most basic-and least obvious-racial assumptions. Naughts and Crosses is a gripping, stimulating, and totally absorbing novel for readers of any age.

Ages 14 up.

A Junior Library Guild selection.

Originally published in Great Britain as Noughts & Crosses in 2001.