NOUGHTS AND CROSSES

An interesting racial reversal sets the stage and the tone for this serious look at prejudice and loss of innocence. Callum, a Nought, one of the colorless underclass, and Sephy, the daughter of a powerful Cross, the dark-skinned dominant class, have grown up together. Now, in their teens, romance rears its dangerous head. Narrator Syan Blake's Sephy starts with a lovely lilting smile in her voice. As she grows aware of her true feelings for Callum and copes with the pain of discrimination, her voice tightens and her mood shifts. Paul Chequer sensitively handles Callum's sense of hopelessness as a "blanker," never overdoing his wistful longing for something better. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 06]