A review by dramagirl2003
Checkmate by Malorie Blackman

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

the tension in this book is unreal. the ugliness in the world of Noughts + Crosses almost made me cry

"I think it's lucky that I've got a Cross mum and a Nought dad."
"Why?"
"Cause I can't go round liking one and not the other, can I? Cause I'm both."

thoughts while reading

p1:
it's jude
. the general is
jude

p13: no stop cause isn't this the exact conversation callum and sephy had at the beginning of Noughts + Crosses
p15: sarah pike is still there after all these years!
p20: nana jasmine is 100% gonna
lock callie rose in the cellar

p26: girl please don't do this, callie will never forgive you
p30: is jasmine a trained assassin or something?? girl how you outsmarting a terrorist
p57: πŸ˜” poor trusting meggie. but jude's definitely right to keep his role a secret
p59: is she serious?
p78: GIRL OKAY
p108: what a rude awakening for tobey into the prejudiced mind

p116:
IT'S JUDE! IT'S JUDE! IT'S JUDE
! GET AWAY CALLIE ROSE! RUN!
p225: girl why is
jude burglaring their house now and taking callum's letter
of all things
p226: oh sugar
HE TOOK IT TO SHOW CALLIE ROSE

p251: oh don't be so bloody evil

p286: honestly we all should have realised that
tobey would be the first one to find out about callum. he's much more exposed to the world than callie rose

p299: the confusion of sephy and callie rose over the last two books about whether callum ever actually loved them has honestly killed me πŸ’”πŸ’”

p342: nuh uh be careful girlie, amyas might have just brought you there to make out
p343: girl what did I say. this is why imma make sure my girlies (and boylies) are warned not to go into a bedroom alone with someone. if amyas keeps assaulting her i really hope tobey comes to save the day (or even lucas would be fine too i guess)
p346: ooooh both, even better!
I'm glad lucas was the one to punch him though otherwise tobey could've been reported for assault


p361: next section title is Callum's Letters, does this mean we'll finally get to find out what all the other letters said? including the real one? cause I'm betting
the one sephy got wasn't even written by callum or he was at least coerced

p386: for flip sake, who cares if the first letter is "selfish"!! did he not stop to think for even a minute about how bloody screwed up his second letter is?? like it literally ruined sephy's life!!! how the hell does reading that the love of your life despised you help you move on in ANY BLOODY WAY!!!!! THINK CALLUM YOU BLOODY IDIOT THINK!!!!
p401: i'm really proud of tobey for persisting in trying to warn and look out for callie, no matter how cruel she treats him! that is love. platonic, romantic, family, call it whatever you want, it's dedication

p416: 
"And it's just as silly to say a nought could be...well, Prime Minister one day. I mean, that is soooooo never going to happen."
HA that's ironic cause i swear i've seen a spoiler somewhere that says
tobey becomes prime minister
one day

p418: preach tobey
p419: and what a positive view he has on losing the debate too
p421: callie and lucas have been going out for a year?? when's tobey gonna come into the picture?

p424: reading about 15 year olds considering having sex genuinely terrifies me cause that's how old my brother is and i can remember being that age knowing i would never be able to emotionally cope with the implications afterwards or even during!! gahhhhhh can we please just stay children for a little longer!! i'm flipping 20 years old and i still wouldn't be able to handle it!

p428: i know that deep down jude does have a heart but the world was too hard and fractured for him to cope with so he completely turned off his emotions but can't, and is terrified to get them back again
p432: ah! character growth! I'm so proud 🫢🏻
p433: huh what the heck is sonny doing there??

p435: and there's the smart psychopathic killer we know and hate
p442: girllll just tell it to him straight and put the man out of his misery
p447: oh for flip sake! is jude really still so delusioned that he thinks callum would be proud of all he's doing?? I almost feel bad for him

p450:
Lucas had the self-confidence that came from being told every day of his life that he was good enough. Tobey had the self-confidence that came from having to work that out for himself.
and that is the difference between the two that edges me towards team tobey

p452: girl, you know where the bodies are buried? damn that's intense. are these metaphorical or literal?
p460:
it's kamal
. the target is
100% kamal

p461: here's a great idea. get over your spite and just don't

p467: callie my girl you are literally 16 and i've read most of your life story so far, how can you think that your life is so messed up that you'd agree to be a suicide bomber?? you are not your father, who by the way is almost nothing like who you're imagining. come on girl! don't lose hope
p470: i did wonder if
jasmine and sephy already knew what callie was upto


p472: see callie, i knew some deep part of you secretly loved tobey. again, call it whatever you want. platonic, romantic, family, some connections just run too deep
p473: girl really what are you planning now jasmine
p474: callie's passivity to life is really grating on me now
p483: I KNEW JUDE LOVED CARA I KNEW IT! HE JUST COULDN'T COPE WITH THE BLOODY EMOTIONS!! AHHHHHHH!!!
p500: finally resolution 🫢🏻❀️
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