Knife Edge

'Devastatingly powerful' Guardian

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. . .

Voted as one of the UK's best-loved books, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses series is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.

'Moving and thought-provoking' Observer

"Packs some powerful political punches...But Blackman never compromises the story, which is dramatic, moving and brave"

Malorie Blackman has written over seventy books for children and young adults, including the Noughts & Crosses series, Thief and a science-fiction thriller, Chasing the Stars. Many of her books have also been adapted for stage and television, including a BAFTA-award-winning BBC production of Pig-Heart Boy and a Pilot Theatre stage adaptation by Sabrina Mahfouz of Noughts & Crosses. There is also a major BBC production of Noughts & Crosses, with Roc Nation (Jay-Z's entertainment company) curating the soundtrack as executive music producer. In 2005 Malorie was honoured with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children's books. In 2008 she received an OBE for her services to children's literature, and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children's Laureate. Most recently Malorie wrote for the Doctor Who series on BBC One, and the fifth novel in her Noughts & Crosses series, Crossfire, was published by Penguin Random House Children's in summer 2019.

"It is really a cautionary tale about choice and the danger of nursing anger. This makes it a humane story that will help the cause of tolerance ... It is written with passion, does not condescend and will appeal to teenagers who want to understand grown-up emotions" The Sunday Times 20040217 "Relentless in its pace ... Devastatingly powerful" Guardian 20040217 "The story never flags, and characters develop ... I repeatedly looked up from the pages, thinking "What would I do?" and this is the redeeming strength of Knife Edge - its moral heft" Daily Telegraph 20040316 "Malorie Blackman is writing a disturbing trilogy that should be read because it is important. And a gripping yarn as well" School Librarian 20040316 "Noughts & Crosses was brilliant and this sequel is as good, if not better ... The reader is forced to confront issues of racism in our society in a unique way ... but this is incidental as the tale is so compelling" Carousel 20040513