Checkmate

Malorie Blackman's Checkmate, the final installment in her Noughts and Crosses series, is a bestseller in the U.K. (See the Children's BBC report.) I mentioned Blackman's novel a few weeks  ago, citing Nicolette Jones's review in the Times (of London). What I did not know—and Jones did not elaborate upon—is that the book is about a would-be suicide bomber.

Jones's review appeared three days after London's July 7th bombings. I'm puzzled why the Times editors would not ask for greater detail about the subject matter. Perhaps that part of the paper had already gone to press.

Obviously there  is  much in Checkmate that is speaking to teens in the U.K. Blackman's novel was published in June. Her prescience is eerie.