Checkmate

Title: Checkmate

"If you're naive- which means immature,
inexperienced or a bit
thick- you get eaten alive."

Author: Malorie Blackman

First Published: 2005

Series: Noughts & Crosses Sequence, followed by Double Cross

Available As: Paperback, ebook

My Rating: 8/10

Callie Rose, daughter of Sephy and Callum, has grown up. She's 16, and dealing with a stressful life. But she's not as normal as the average teenage girl. She was secretly helping the Liberation Militia and training to be a bomber with the help of her uncle, Jude. Also piled on her plate is her love life troubles. Such a confusing life for a teenage girl.

Checkmate is told in different perspectives, ranging from Callie Rose's, Sephy's, Jude's, Meggie's, and Jasmine's. All the characters are in conflict with another. Callie Rose is on bad terms with her mother, Sephy. Their relationship had gone downhill ever since Callie found out that Sephy had been lying to her about her father's true identity. Jasmine is determined to put an end to Jude's reign. Violence and pain is filled in these pages.

Callie Rose takes after both Sephy and Callum. She's sweet, loving, and a fighter. She knows what's right, although she doesn't realise this until she's older. However, she's blinded by her fantasies most of the time to realise what is going on in the real world.

Checkmate is a game position in chess, the final move. It suits the book very well. It's practically a game for the characters. Especially for Jude. To solve their conflicts and to win at the same time. Unfortunately, not everyone can have a happy ending; not everyone can win.

For every game, there has to be someone who wins, and someone who loses