Knife Edge: Book 2

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I also think her newfound hatred for Callum played a part and stopped her from connecting with her baby. We witness just how damaging her hatred can be for those around her. I did like how she started to find herself. I think the first book we saw how just how wrapped up in Callum she was and consequently, it was hard to decipher who she was as a person. But away from her controlling family, Sephy started to discover herself. We witnessed her personal growth. I guess it’s why I felt so conflicted reading her narratives. I was happy for her but I was also extremely sad for her at the same time. I kept hoping that she sought the help that she needed. As with the first book, there is a rather bitty structure where short section follows short section, each in an alternating viewpoint. This time, the switching is mainly between Sephy, the young Cross woman who was pregnant at the end of book 1, and Jude, the brother of Callum, the baby's now deceased father. Unlike book 1 there are a few sections in minor viewpoints, that of Sephy's mother and Jude/Callum's mother. I’m loving this series. I read them a long time ago and so I don’t remember them much but they feel familiar. No one could begin to guess at the depth of the hatred I held for Sephy Hadley. Everything began with her and my brother. And that’s how it would end.

Sephy is such an incredible character - how she thinks about everything, how she acts about everything. She dragged me into her emotions and I really felt for her.The first book, NOUGHTS & CROSSES, spanned a handful of years and trauma. And it had Lynette, a side character who was instantly fascinating.

The ‘Noughts & Crosses’ series provides us with an explicit flip and twist on both the history and current political and cultural demographic of British society – where racial politics is turned on its head and power structures are completely reversed. Callum is a nought: he's considered to be less than nothing - a blanker, there to serve Crosses - but he dreams of a better life. The book also introduces some very interesting new themes and some that are quite grown up including mental illness, grief and post-natal depression. Sephy’s involvement in the band in particular I also liked as it introduces comments on the music industry, including racism and how image plays a large part of success.

Loved the rainbow colour thing going on at the beginning of each section - this was a very clever idea which was seamlessly woven into the book with great intentions.

The side characters are well developed which immediately told me that this book would deserve a very high rating. She qualified in Computer Science and followed a successful career in computing, before becoming a writer at the age of 28. Her first published book was Not So Stupid! (1990), a book of short stories. Since then she has written many books and scripts, and her popularity has steadily grown. Her scripts for television include several episodes of Byker Grove, Whizziwig and Pig-Heart Boy, and she has also written original dramas for CITV and BBC Education. Her stage play, The Amazing Birthday, was performed in 2002. First off I really did enjoy this beautiful masterpiece its filled with sorrow, hate, passion, revenge, depression, pain, rage, second chances, love and so so so much more. There was so many different things going on this novel at once I don't even know where to begin. Can I just give a hand to Sephys mom though like ohmygosh all the awards to you. I seriously admired her and if anything good that came out of this novel it was her. Sephy... all I can say is Sephy is not the same little naive girl who thought she and Callum could be friends without a second glance.

In this book, however, the time period is not even a year. Which is more comfortable as a reader, as we have space to more fully explore what's going on.