I read the Noughts and Crosses books as a kid so I'm thrilled we're getting another set of books. It was great to get back into this world and I love the cross over with modern day politics. A really important message written in an accessible way.

I did not read this book but would like to in the future. Unfortunately for me, it was archived before I could download it.

Excellent book! A modern Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending, full of action, schemes and romance. When families business and politics go in the middle,

This is the latest book in the noughts and crosses series. Personally, i feel that this isn't a standalone and they should be read in order so that the reader has a feel for what's going on. 

With a new nought prime minister, Tobey, were thrown into a world which is struggling from a windrush type generation, to a brexit style feud. 

Libby comes from an impoverished background, while Troy a wealthier one. 

Cally, now 30, is training to be a judge. She becomes involved in helping and protecting Tobey. 

The best, but also the most frustrating thing about the book was the absolute cliffhanger it ended on. I felt like it was just reaching a climax when it ended. 

I'll definitely be looking out for book six.

I can’t believe how long it took me to get to this series! I so wish I had read these whilst I was a teenager but also great that I didn’t have to wait for this as long as some have. Excellent writing, vision and empathy!

I'm not sure if this is as good as the original Noughts & Crosses series or it's just that i'm no longer the target age for this series either now, compared with when I read them originally but I did still think it was good.

I thought the new characters and their backstories were well thought out and developed , although I would recommend reading a couple of re-caps for the series or re-reading it entirely.

Looking forward to seeing what the next instalment brings

Always loved the Noughts and Crosses series and this did not dissapoint. The characters are incredible and the plot without spoiling is gripping! Definitely a 5 out of 5 from a big Malorie Blackman fan.

It is very difficult to review Crossfire, not only because it is the fifth book in a series but because it also feels like it only tells half of a story.

Crossfire follows Troy and Libby, who are the children of characters we meet earlier in the series, as they are kidnapped and trapped in a basement. It also has some chapters from Callie Rose and Tobey’s perspectives (the protagonists of Double Cross) dotted throughout, filling us in on everything which happened between the end of the last novel and the start of this one.

As is often the case with Malorie Blackman’s writing, this book has a non-linear narrative, skipping between Before and After the kidnapping, as well as jumping all the way back to when Callie Rose and Tobey were younger. It makes for a very intense read. The kidnapping happens right at the beginning and the blanks of who and why are filled in quite rapidly, making it easy to read this book in one sitting.

Personally, I feel as though this book is the strongest in the Noughts & Crosses series. Both plots are equally compelling. I couldn’t wait to see what happened between Tobey and Callie Rose, but I also wanted to get straight back to Libby and Troy. In the past I have found myself strongly preferring one viewpoint over the other (I loved Callum’s chapters more in Noughts & Crosses but found myself favouring Sephy’s viewpoint in Knife Edge, which meant the chapters following other characters ended up dragging a little bit) so it was a pleasant surprise that the new characters were just as interesting as the ones I already knew and loved.

However, this doesn’t feel like a complete story. It leaves off on one hell of a cliffhanger and, considering Crossfire has been out for almost a year and the next book doesn’t have a release date, title or a cover yet, it’s wholly unsatisfying. If I had been aware that the story stopped so abruptly I probably would have held off on reading this (well, if it hadn’t been on this shortlist…) because I feel as though I’m going to have to reread it to be able to appreciate the next installment fully. This was so close to being a five star (the other four books in the series have all been four stars, so it’s frustrating that I enjoyed this one the most and still couldn’t justify rating it any higher!).

I am finding myself a bit confused on how this has been nominated for the YA Book Prize, though. In their own words ‘Books published as part of a series are eligible but must work as a standalone title’, and I don’t think that’s the case with Crossfire. Not only is the story quite clearly unresolved, but it also seems impossible to read without previous knowledge of the series. Tobey and Callie Rose fill in the blanks between the events of Double Cross and Crossfire but don’t really recap things that actually happened in the previous book, and I think I would have had too many question marks floating around my head if I had read this without the context of the series so far.

I’m planning on doing a full series review of Noughts & Crosses at some point, as I reread all four previous books before reading Crossfire, but I will probably be waiting until the sixth and final book is released (whenever that may be!). However, I am so grateful that I’ve finally had the excuse to rediscover these books. I loved them so much when I was younger, and I love them so much now: I definitely won’t be leaving it as long before I reread them again.

Crossfire is the long-awaited follow up to Noughts and Crosses. I am admittedly late to the party with this series but Malorie Blackman was the forerunner for much loved dystopian titles. Crossfire is gripping and Malorie tackles issues such as racism and discrimination beautifully.

I adored the first four books in this series so was super excites whwn this one was due! I couldn't wait to carry on and find out what the future held....it's a great story and a great addition to the series :)

It was so great to be reunited with familiar characters.

A great follow on to a much loved series.

4 stars.

This was an excellent return to the Noughts & Crosses universe. As with the books that have gone before this one it is gripping, thought provoking and entirely relevant. I was glad to revisit the characters I had known from the previous book and enjoyed meeting the new generation who take this new story forward. The book ends with a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Growing up with Noughts and Crosses, I was super excited to meet the next generation in Crossfire. In Crossfire we follow Callie-Rose, daughter of Sephy as she defends the first Nought Prime Mister and old friend, Tobey, for murder.

We also follow Callie-Rose's half brother Troy and his semi-friend Libby. Both who seem more intertwined with each other as the events of the book are set in motion. And with each new turn, a new, dark secret is revealed.

Trying to explain the story without giving anything away is impossible. Crossfire is a tightly woven tale, that will have you on the edge of your seat and have you begging for more. Crossfire is a story about putting aside your differences and showing that together you are stronger than when separated.

My only criticism of Crossfire is that we ended on a huge cliff-hanger. One that had me throwing the book away in disgust. It actually ended in the middle of a very exciting situation. So while I cannot wait for the next book, it is with slight disappointment that the book ended so suddenly.

An excellent addition to the Noughts and Crosses series. I really enjoyed it, however if you haven't read the earlier books then this is going to be very hard going. Highly recommended but read the series in order... Its worth it if you haven't read them before anyway.

This is a stunning addition to the noughts and crosses collection. Blackman is able to engross the reader into her world and characters that we have all loved over the years. I would thoroughly recommend the whole collection as well as this

I love this series of books, I read them when I was a teenager and was excited when this book came out. Reading it took me straight back to being a teenager. The style of writing is brilliant, the pace of the story is great and I loved that the characters were still there but just older and with their own families.

However, there is no ending. You get half way through the story and is says to be concluded. This really annoyed me, especially as there isn't another book out yet to finish the story. It isn't like any other book with a cliffhanger, it just stops halfway through without answering any questions. Very frustrating. Which is why I have only given 3stars. I was in target to give 5 so it was a disappointing end.

This is the 5th book in the series. I personally enjoyed this book as much as the previous books, I have heard that other people are disappointed by it. But not myself. A great series of books.

Noughts & Crosses changed my life as a child, it was moving, educational and all round a really entertaining book.  I read all the subsequent books growing up, so it was a strange feeling to return to that world as an adult. Generally speaking I found it really entertaining, there were plenty of twists and turns, and pretty much everything was a mystery waiting to be solved. Malaria's writing has always been very easy to read, and this was no exception. I loved the parallels that run along the main storyline, throwing light on some of the injustices in the current world we live in. The only real disappointment I had, was having absolutely no idea there would be another book, so a lot of the answers I was waiting for, never arrived. I do look forward to seeing what happens next, and how it all concludes!

Absolutely loved Noughts and Crosses so was thrilled to see there was a new edition to the series. This really did not disappoint and has led me to go back and read the whole series again from the beginning. Well worth a read, especially if you are a fan of Malorie Blackman's other work!

Listen, the Noughts and Crosses series was the first YA series that I've ever read. I remember doing my first book talk in school about the first installment, talking about how it addresses race and subverts reader's expectations at every turn. Callum and Sephy were my heart. I loved them to pieces. 
Sadly, after reading this, I kind of wished Blackman would have just stuck with the original quartet. 
The writing wasn't up to par with what I remembered about her immersive style. But beyond that, I just felt like the pacing was completely off, I was confused about certain plot points that made no sense to me (even though I feel like I still know enough about the world even after all these years) and the characters just weren't relatable. I also have to admit that I didn't know that this was going to be a series. I was irritated at the pacing, but obviously that makes sense because I thought the entire plot was spanned over one book instead of a series, so maybe that's on me. Generally though, this was not what I was expecting after loving the original series so much.