REVIEW: Knife Edge (#2) - Malorie Blackman

Title: Knife Edge (#2)
Author: Malorie Blackman
Series: Noughts & Crosses
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 417 Pages
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads Blurb

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.

Where there has been love, now there is hate.

Two families have been shattered by the divided and violent society they live in.

Sephy Hadley - a Cross, supposedly powerful and privileged - has bound herself forever to her nought lover Callum McGregor's family.

But Jude McGregor blames Sephy for all the tragedies his family has suffered. And he is determined to force her to take sides, and destroy her life . . . just like she destroyed his. . .

Thoughts

*BEWARE SPOILERS*

*TRIGGER WARNINGS: Hate Crime*

I absolutely loved Noughts and Crosses, so it was natural that I was going to pick up Knife Edge. The story focuses a lot more on what Jude has been doing since the events of the first book, and how his actions through this book impact Sephy, Callie-Rose, and Meggie.

I loved this book, I was so glad that we got to see more of Jude and explore more of his psyche so to speak. We were able to see his inner conflict regarding his feelings when he met Cara.  With Jude and his character development, you see that he holds a lot of anger and what I personally think is guilt over Callum's death, and when he meets someone who is not like the picture he has imagined that all Crosses are he becomes very conflicted which then turns explosive.

I found Sephy's story arc in this book to be a bit of a side story which eds up merging with Jude's later on. You do see as well that Sephy feels guilt towards Callum's death, and is trying to bring up Callie-Rose as a single parent in a world that is not accepting of a mixed-race child.

I find that this book is hard-hitting, Blackman really does not hold the punches and you see a darker side to the Liberation Militia as well as Jude's descent down into the extremist part of the group. I also find that what Sephy goes through as a mother with a mixed-race child upsetting, that Callie-Rose is not accepted because she is neither one colour or the other, it just breaks my heart for this child, and for Sephy who have done nothing wrong to have that kind of scorn thrown on them.

Again this series is great for opening up discussion about topics that really need to be talked about.

Overall, no matter who you are it should be read just to open up the discussion about the topics that the series of books bring about.