History Literature / NoughtsAndCrosses

''Noughts & Crosses'' series is set in a world where [[PersecutionFlip the people with dark skin (Crosses) are dominant over the white people (noughts)]], written by Creator/MalorieBlackman. The title is a reference to the game [[TabletopGame/TicTacToe Noughts and Crosses]] [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage (tic-tac-toe)]].

* ButNotTooWhite: Which is the in-universe equivalent of ButNotTooBlack.

''Noughts & Crosses'' series is set in a world where [[PersecutionFlip the people with dark skin (Crosses) are dominant over the white people (noughts)]], written by Creator/MalorieBlackman. The title is a reference to the game Noughts and Crosses [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage (tic-tac-toe)]].

* AmbiguousDisorder: Lynette. She seems to have some kind of PTSD and psychosis.

* UnfortunateImplications: Invoked In-universe.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Jasmine and Meggie, before Jasmine fired her (wrecking her family's life in the process) for accidentally not providing an alibi about a night out.

* DeadGuyJunior: Sephy names Callie Rose after her father (although she decided that before Callum was sentenced to death). If Callie had been a boy, she stated that she would have called him Ryan after Callum's deceased father.

* YourCheatingHeart: Kamal blatantly cheats on Jasmine. The only reason he stays with her at all is for the sake of his image. Once he's got what he needed out of an election, he drops her immediately.

* BittersweetEnding: Checkmate. [[spoiler: Jasmine kills Jude, preventing him from harming Sephy or Callie anymore but dies as a result and Meggie loses her last child. Sephy and Callie reconcile and realize Callum loved both of them all along, but will never really get over his death.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: And how. Much of the attitude against noughts mirrors prejudice against Black people during segregation in America, apartheid in South Africa and to a lesser extent attitudes towards black people in Britain until the 1960's. The Liberation Milita are realistic WellIntentionedExtremist, with echoes of the IRA in cell structure, modus operandi and treatment by the media, and of MK and PAC anti apartheid guerrillas in South Africa. Kamal Hadley's political policy of "sending white people back where they came from," resembles some peoples ideas about immigration in (modern) Britain. There is even a reference to a KKK-esque band of Crosses who tied a nought to the back of a car and dragged him till he died for being in a ''Cross only'' area.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Utterly subverted with Jude, who attacked a pregnant Sephie and planned to kill her, only sparing her when he realised she wanted to die... then decided it would hurt her more if he let her live then turned Callum's daughter against her mother.

A [[Series/NoughtsAndCrosses TV adaptation]] of the first book began airing on BBC One in the UK during March 2020.

* DeadGuyJunior: Sephy names Callie Rose after her father.

A TV adaptation of the first book began airing on BBC One in the UK during March 2020.

* BigotWithACrush: In ''Knife Edge'', Jude falls in love with the rich cross Cara, [[spoiler: which does not end well, with Jude attempting to reconcile his feelings by beating her to death after stealing her money.]]

* DomesticAbuser: Kamal, both physically and emotionally towards Jasmine.
* DownerEnding: Depends on which book you read. [[spoiler: ''Noughts and Crosses'' and ''Knife Edge'' have these, but it's averted overall because the Main/AndTheAdventureContinues.]]

* [[EthnicMenialLabour White Menial Labour]]: Meggie is a housemaid, Sarah is a cleaner, Tobey works in a shop for a while, Callum in a garage...

* [[FantasticRacism Not So Fantastic Racism]]

* [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt Where Da Nought Women At]]: Lynette and her mentioned boyfriend, Jed. [[spoiler: They are almost killed because of it, sending her over the edge.]]

* SpiritedYoungLady: Sephy.

* OutlivingYourOffspring: [[spoiler:All three of Maggie [=McGregor=]'s children die before her: Lynette by suicide, Callum by execution, and Jude by assassination in a murder-suicide attack.]]

* GenerationXerox: Sephy names Callie Rose after her father.

* MamaBear: Meggie Mcgregor and Jasmine Hadley.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Callum and Sephie having sex that night sent both their lives down the crapper, something Jude did pointed out at the time.

* PapaWolf: Ryan Mcgregor to his children.

* RayOfHopeEnding: Noughts and Crosses. [[spoiler: Callum is hanged with Sephy screaming her love for him as he dies and no one else believes he's innocent of rape.

However the last page of the book bears the announcement of the birth of their daughter and Sephy's declaration she'll take Callum's surname.]]

* TraumaCongaLine: Basically the entire first book for Callum: [[spoiler: His sister is borderline insane, his older brother picks on him and his parents disapprove of him continuing his education at a previously Cross only secondary school.

At said-school he's constantly bullied by students and teachers for his race. Then his sister is killed in an accident, and he discovers it was actually suicide but can't bring himself to tell anyone, his dad is arrested for murder, almost executed and then killed trying to escape. And of course he has to keep his friendship with Sephy a secret, then falls in love with her while knowing they can never be together and he misses his one chance to run away with her. They eventually have one night together and conceive a child...which results in him being put to death and not even being allowed to see her again before he dies.]]

* RayOfHopeEnding: Noughts and Crosses. [[spoiler: Callum is hanged with Sephy screaming her love for him as he dies and no one else believes he's innocent. However the last page of the book bears the announcement of the birth of their daughter and Sephy's declaration she'll take Callum's surname.]]

* TraumaCongaLine: Basically the entire first book for Callum: [[spoiler: His sister is borderline insane, his older brother picks on him and his parents disapprove of him continuing his education at an all-white high school. At said-school he's constantly bullied by students and teachers for his race. Then his sister is killed in an accident, and he discovers it was actually suicide but can't bring himself to tell anyone, his dad is arrested for murder, almost executed and then killed trying to escape. And of course he has to keep his friendship with Sephy a secret, then falls in love with her while knowing they can never be together and he misses his one chance to run away with her. They eventually have one night together and conceive a child...which results in him being put to death and not even being allowed to see her again before he dies.]]