Alexander, Kwame. Door of No Return, The. Little, Brown, 09/2022. 398 [+20]pp. Fiction. GRADES 5 – 8. OUTSTANDING. Trade $17.99. 978-0-316-44186-5.
In his familiar verse style, Alexander invites us into twelve-year-old Kofi Offin’s life in an 1860 Ashante village (now part of the Republic of Ghana). Kofi’s life is rich in family, friends, and traditions, and he is drawn to the Offin river, the origin of his second name. Repeatedly warned to leave the river before nightfall, Kofi finds himself there at that forbidden time and his life changes in unimaginable and horrifying ways. Kofi’s story is engaging, enlightening, heartbreaking, and necessary.
Nora Hale, Independent