Mini-Reviews - Nought Forever & For Every One

Well, this is gonna screw up my Affiliates as I like to start each review with info and links (to keep as transparent as possible) but I decide to put these two together and I don't really have much to say on them but I love and hugely respect both authors but, hang on... let me get this out of the way then we can start! 

• Title And Author: For Every One by Jason Reynolds and Nought Forever by Malorie Blackman
• Publishers: Knights Of & Penguin respectively
• Physical, eBook or Audiobook: Physical for For Every One and eBook for Nought Forever
• Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Bought
• Length: 112 pages each

Well, that was a little easier than I thought. 

Anyway... For Every One is a poem (or is a letter?) talking about the importance of going after your dreams, whatever they are. 

Whereas Nought Forever (a World Book Day short story for this year) follows Dan and Eva, two Noughts who paths cross where Dan is on the run from a ruthless gang and Eva is grieving for her daughter yet compelled to help, even though it's the last thing she wants... 

I decided to pop these together as I love and respect both these authors. And yet... these aren't for me. 

Yeah, it's a "It's not you, it's me" situation. 

For For Every One, I can see how clever, how powerful, how inspiring this poem is. I can see that. But poetry isn't a genre I am well read in and I struggled to read this and get into the flow. Plus, I have a funny feeling I read this at the wrong time for me. If I reread this in the future and in a different mood, my reaction would be very different. 

With Nought Forever, I loved the writing and the story Malorie was writing. But it ended a tad too soon for my taste. I just needed more one line. Plus, I can't escape the feeling that this was a marketing ploy by the publisher to get readers excited for the fifth instalment in the Noughts and Crosses series, Crossfire, and with the series and author having huge fan following (and the BBC is adapting and airing Noughts and Crosses later this year), his marketing ploy isn't really needed. 

Like I said, I love and respect both authors and I see how both titles affect other readers, but for me, in this moment in time, it doesn't work for me. It's very much a "Me Thing" as I sense I wasn't in the right headspace to read these so I am thinking to returning to both in the future when I am ready. Who knows - my reaction to these two in the future might be completely different! 

GoodRead - Callum

I know some of you guys are huge Noughts and Crosses fans. So the fact I say I haven’t read any books (barring An Eye for An Eye a few years back) might shock. “And you call yourself a YA book blogger” I hear one or two of you cry (I still find that odd. Being called a book blogger. And yet, I accept it now whereas a few years ago [and at the Hot Key Books/Templar book blogger event a few days ago], I would be very “Oh no! No, I’m faking it! No one’s twigged yet but I’m here for the free cake!”). Well, I do have every intention to read Noughts and Crosses (it’s on my kindle) after someone at my temp job recommended it to me. And I am going to reread An Eye for an Eye when I do so. But, I wanted to read something fast, hence why I read Callum.

Callum is a “What If” story. Told from Callum’s point of view, he tells the story of what if… what if, instead of deciding one important decision in Noughts and Crosses (as I haven’t read, you will have to pardon my lacking of information), he decided something different. Would his fate be the same as in Noughts and Crosses? Or would it be completely different? Now, “What if” is a dangerous thing to ask any storyteller in whatever medium. Hence why there are so many “what if?” books/TV shows/movies out there. It sits in the person’s brain and then, that all they can think about. “What if…?”

Sorry, am rambling. Anyway, as you know I haven't read the series but this is very much a fan read. If you're a fan of the series, you will love it. More Callum and Stephy? I sense you guys want that! As someone who knows very little of the series, I did find certain things the characters mentioned a bit of a "Huh?" moment, but I really enjoyed the story. I read it in over an hour and was a little upset when the story came to an end (HOW COULD IT END THERE?!) And with a teaser of Noughts and Crosses at the back, I devoured that. I'm quite excited to read Noughts and Crosses now. But that will have to wait for a while, sadly. So many books, so little time...

I wish the story was longer, but yes, I thoroughly enjoyed Callum. I will be checking out more of Malorie Blackman in the near future...