61 pages 2 hours read

Malorie Blackman

Noughts And Crosses

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2001

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Part 8, Chapters 89-103Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 8: “The Hostage”

Part 8, Chapters 89-103 Summary

Some time has passed, and Sephy recalls her difficult transition to life at boarding school. She suffered from the heartache of Callum’s decision not to run away with her, and though she didn’t believe she was drinking that much, she also suffered from alcohol withdrawal. She now sees her move to boarding school as “a chance to remake myself, start from scratch” (365). Sephy stays away from home on breaks and joins a Cross dissident group that fights for change in society. Minnie has informed Sephy that their mother continues to drink excessively and that she plans to go to university as far away from home as possible even though their mother puts up a fight to stop her. Sephy, however, no longer drinks and is focused on building a new future for herself without Callum. She has decided to become a lawyer and is inspired by Kelani Adams, but she does still occasionally wonder if Callum thinks of her.

Callum recalls his two years in the Liberation Militia as he worked his “way up the ranks” (369). He uses his newfound connections in the militia to exact revenge upon the three Cross girls who attacked Sephy, which he enjoyed and feels fully justified in doing.