Stepping back...

The memory of me walking out the plane into Heathrow sits clearly in my mind like a perfectly framed picture. Crosses are starting to fill in the empty boxes of my calendar as the days since my arrival here in Durham continue to stack up without fail. Its been a full week of hectic activities with not a moment left for me to breathe. Juggling a domestic life for myself alongside a busy academic and activity schedule has appeared harder than I thought it would be, and I haven't even had the time to meet up with friends I haven't seen in a while.

I had a little conversation with the air steward as I was walking out the plane. He saw me reading the newspapers from end to end and wondered what I was doing in England. I told him I study in Durham and his observation practically summed up my interests-everything. He asked if I had a part time job after I told him the expenses of me being here and I guiltily replied no as my presence in this part of the world relies solely on the ability of my parents to work. I never thought I would be sitting here right now being able to have my own income especially not with the pile of rejections I received last year (all shapes and forms, text messages, letters, emails, verbal, you name it I got it.)

Yes, I have a job. There is a probationary period which I am still in but at least I know I have half a foot in the door. My first shift will start next week and I feel really challenge with the task I will have to do but with the level of support shown so far, I am hopeful that everything will be ok.

The air is already a cold chill forewarning what might be an intense three months of winter. Rumour has it that last year was the worst winter England has seen in a hundred years, then why is the wind blowing more fervently this time round? It was all a big lie. Looking out the window to the down trodden wet roads and dull skies is a sad sight and makes me look forward to huddling snugly under my feathered quilt to stay away from the cold that never seems to allude this place.

So far things have gone better than I've hoped. I remain thankful every single day firstly for my loving parents and secondly for all that I have been given the opportunity to experience. I'm still the same as I was last year, hopeful and big-eyed, but a little less naive and a little more prepared. I still don't know what the hell I'm doing on earth or even Durham for that matter or where I want to head off to after graduation. I still ask the big questions and even little ones that matter to absolutely no one but myself. And I'll always be the overly keen girl talking about work (but doesn't actually want to work) because that's just how I am. Some people can't deal with it and maybe last year I've been too wary of pleasing everybody. This time round, I know my limitations and I embrace them because I can't be a perfect person. I hope to meet some good people along the way but if I don't, tough luck.

As much as I would love life to be all rosy and red, I know that the fall can be pretty deep. And for some one like me with little direction, big ambitions and a crazy mind, comfortable just isn't going to work, meaning that I'll be encountering a good amount of challenges. I'm learning to embrace it. I will be a better person.

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a lovely day.

Noughts and crosses...

Don't judge a book my its cover. I know this saying letter by letter, it is only seven words after all. Living it out is a completely different story. The cover of a book can preempt the words waiting behind the covers. Therefore, I often take a book's cover pretty seriously in making my decision whether or not to get a book.

+Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses has a cover black and white in colour, cut off by each other right in the middle. Strong, contrast, dangerous. These are things that crossed my mind the first time I saw the cover. I even thought it looked a little boring for a book with the sort of hype it has garnered from the few people who have read it. The title doesn't give much hint as to what might come either, therefore giving a yes to let go of my money was quite hard.

A friend and trusted book pal and I were talking about books we have read and books we have to read. She brought this book up and the phrase "must read" came up many times. Knowing her knowing me, I decided it was time, even if I knew that it would be a deep dark story and my mood was not exactly aligned to it.

Malorie Blackman writes about racial disharmony and discrimination, much like our real life world where segregation plays a constant issue in many countries. The difference in her fiction and our world is that there, the coloured people are the ones who are the high flyers, the elite, the bureaucrats where as the fair skinned are the ones on the sidelines, living day to day, scraping by with just enough. The coloured are known as Noughts and Crosses for the light skinned. The lines that separate these two groups of people a drawn hard and solid, with strong disdain between the two.

Enter Sephy and Callum. Sephy is not just any Nought, she is among the elite group with her father a major player in the political scene. Sephy's family is all power and all money. On the flip side of the coin is Callum, whose mother works for Sephy Hadley's family as a helper, with skin as fair as it gets. They live a typical Cross life serving the Noughts and living a life not full of opportunities having to dig long and hard for any light to shine through.

Sephy and Callum are close friends, given that they have known each other since Sephy was running around in diapers. As they approach the age where the blurred lines between Noughts and Crosses get clearer, they find keeping their friendship under a constant pressure from either side of the draw. Sephy's friends slant their eyes towards Callum and Callum's family accuse him of trying to be better than they are. Each dealing with troubles brought about by the harsh segregation. Caught in between the web is Sephy who tries her hardest to show that the colour of her skin means nothing to her, but each step she takes seem to push everyone away while Callum struggles to understand the inequality he faces.

The story is told through the eyes of Sephy and Callum, their voices alternating giving the reader a good perspective looking in from both sides. This gives the story an extra turbo charge flying through the plot in lightning fast pace. There seems to be no rest between pages and each word absorbed brings the reader closer and deeper into trouble that never seems to allude both of them.

I really liked this book and was really affected by the end of it. I know its good when I can't wait to go on reading through the whole series with the only thing holding me back is the need to step back into my own life for a little while (and money). The story is very intense but shakes you up and makes you reflect on life and what it might really mean. Does segregation still exist in our lives? Yes. Are we really defined by the colour of our skin? No. Why do we do it anyway?

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Would I recommend this book?
Absolutely.
How much do I rate this book?
5/5
Would I read other works by this author?
Yes

Thanks for reading!