In the final chapters of Malorie Blackman's novel Noughts & Crosses, protagonists and star-crossed lovers Callum and Sephy are left with an impossible decision after she becomes pregnant. ... So they choose Callum's death over losing their child and he's executed.

What Happens In noughts and crosses summary?

Noughts & Crosses tells the story of two young people: a girl called Sephy and a boy called Callum. ... Callum's dad and brother get involved with a nought terrorist organisation. Callum initially hates the violence but after his sister dies and his dad is killed in prison, he turns terrorist too.

What happens to Callum In noughts and crosses?

In the final moments of the book, Callum was executed while Sephy called out professing her love for him. He chose not to wear a hood, so that he was able to see her before he was killed.

Does Callum get sephy pregnant?

Turns out, Sephy is pregnant with Callum's baby. Sometime after, Callum tries to visit Sephy at her house, but since Callum's last visit, security was tightened. Callum was arrested whilst talking to Sephy.

What happens in chapter one of noughts and crosses?

Chapters 1–2: Meggie McGregor and her employer, Mrs Hadley, are watching two children playing in the garden. Callum is Meggie's son and Sephy is Mrs Hadley's daughter. Mrs Hadley's husband, Kamal, arrives and hits his wife after discovering, with the innocent help of Meggie, she had lied to him.

Stars of Noughts + Crosses break down key scenes | BBC Trailers

Who married sephy?

Nathaniel "Nathan" Ealing was the manager of Specimens, the restaurant Persephone Hadley worked at. He later married Sephy, and they had a son, Troy together.

What happened to Lynette In noughts and crosses?

Callum's troubled elder sister, Lynette, commits suicide by throwing herself in front of a bus. Only Callum knows that it was suicide, as Lynette had left him a secret note that talks of her depression after an attack on her and her Cross boyfriend.

Why did Callum write that letter to sephy?

Callum had in fact written two letters. In the first he tells Sephy how much he loves her and that she must not tell the baby anything about his life as a terrorist. This letter he threw away and wrote the second one because he thought it might make it easier for Sephy to accept his death.

Is Callum a Nought or a cross?

Callum is a nought: pale-skinned and poor, he's considered to be less than nothing – a blanker, there to serve Crosses – but he dreams of a better life. They've been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go.

Will there be a 6th noughts and crosses book?

Malorie Blackman is completing her Noughts & Crosses YA series with the sixth and final novel, Endgame, publishing with Penguin Random House Children's UK in summer 2021.

Is Callum really dead in Noughts and Crosses?

Does Callum die in the Noughts and Crosses book? Sadly Callum does die at the end of the book. After Sephy falls pregnant, Callum is arrested for his actions as a member of the LM and falsely accused of raping Sephy. ... Callum stands trial where he is found guilty and hanged.

Why did Malorie Blackman call it Noughts and Crosses?

author malorie Blackman wanted to write a book about slavery, race and racism, and called it noughts and crosses because it's a game that 'once you've grasped its objective and tactics, it invariably ends in a draw – a no-win situation.

Is Noughts and Crosses based on a true story?

Noughts + Crosses was partly inspired by Stephen Lawrence's murder and how it was handled by a racist police force, but it's worth remembering that just four years before he died, police classism inflicted misery on the families of Hillsborough victims.

What age is noughts and crosses for?

The novel itself is Young Adult, with Sephy and Callum contributing alternate chapters as they tell their entwined stories. There's been much debate over what's a suitable age to read the book with its challenging and upsetting content: the consensus has been around 12.

What are the key themes in noughts and crosses?

Not dissimilar to Romeo and Juliet, Noughts & Crosses' plot explores themes of racism, prejudice and politics and is narrated by the two main characters Sephy, a Cross, and Callum, a Nought.

Does Callum go back to Mercy Point?

Times are tough for the McGregors: not only have Ryan and Meggie lost their jobs, but now Callum has walked away from Mercy Point (aka the only wage coming into the household).

How old is Sephy and Callum?

15-year-old Callum is a Nought, and his best friend, Sephy, as well as being a Cross, is also the daughter of one of the most influential politicians in the country. The story focuses on their relationship, which is frowned upon by society, and explores the discrimination they encounter at every turn.

What did Callum's letter say?

In this letter, I will share with you a lie, a wish and a secret. When I'm gone, your brother Ezran will become king, and you will be his partner, his defender and his closest adviser. Soon you will both face a lie. The great lie of history.

Which character works for the Hadley family and helps deliver letters to Callum on sephy behalf?

Family. Celine Labinjah was the daughter to Jack Labinjah who was the prison guard with Callum McGregor before his death. Jack told Celine that Callum had told him to deliver a letter to Persephone Hadley, and that he had found out the letter Callum had given him wasn't the real one.

What happens at the end of knife edge?

She hugs her daughter too tightly while she sing the famous song "Rainbow Child". Callie Rose stops breathing, and Meggie screams at Sephy, "What have you done?" The book concludes in a cliffhanger without stating whether Callie Rose will survive.

Why did Meggie McGregor lose her job?

Sephy and Callum play with each other as children, as Callum's mother works as a nanny to Jasmine Hadley. However Meggie loses her job working for the Hadleys when she unknowingly fails to provide an alibi for Jasmine's affair.

Who paid for Ryan McGregor's Defence?

To save them, Ryan confesses to the bomb attack. With Ryan facing the death penalty, Sephy and Jasmine fund Ryan's defence, providing him with a skilled lawyer who manages to get the death penalty downgraded to a 30-year custodial sentence.

Is Stormzy In noughts and crosses?

UK rapper Stormzy was so convincing as a newspaper boss in BBC drama Noughts + Crosses that the makers of the show want him back if there's a second season.

What happens to sephy In noughts and crosses?

In the final chapters of Malorie Blackman's novel Noughts & Crosses, protagonists and star-crossed lovers Callum and Sephy are left with an impossible decision after she becomes pregnant. ... So they choose Callum's death over losing their child and he's executed.