S. I. (RedHeadDread) reviewed on 9/24/2008 + 43 more book reviews

Naughts & Crosses is interesting. it's similar to that movie with John Travolta and Sidney Poitier in which the history has flipped and whites are the oppressed and blacks are running the show. However, this is a YA novel, and it's written by a black woman which means, among other things, that the myriad little ways privilege plays out, especially unconsciously, are well-represented and that the ending is not trite or Hollywood-ish. Overall, I had mixed feelings about it, especially when I heard that schools have started including it in their curricula, not just their libraries. IMO, it's hard to teach race relations well, especially if the teacher has not thoroughly examined her/his own baggage. Also, I suppose one could use this as an example when discussing whether racism/prejudice still exists in Great Britain/Europe since the author is British, even though the setting for the books is a fictional distopia. It's first in a series. I might check out the others.

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