A beautiful novel in verse that both young and adult readers will enjoy. The highly heartbreaking contents were handle with delicate hands, and the story is deeply impactful.

The Door of No Return is a novel-in-verse that is classified as a middle grade, but I honestly think that it reads as more of an adult novel. It’s extremely well-written, and presents the reader with many things to reflect upon once they flip past that last page. As I was reading this book, I kept thinking about how it felt like a book that should be read in classrooms, particularly to inform students about the history of the slave trade and the lives that it disrupted.

That being said, the book deals with a lot of difficult themes. They don’t go into graphic detail (after all, it is an MG), but there are implications and mentions of things like bullying, murder, kidnapping, slavery, and rape. This is something I think people, especially parents and children, should be aware of before picking up this book. There is, in fact, a very good chance that you’ll get emotional as you follow Kofi through the timeline of his life.

Before I end this review, I do want to explain that I actually think this is a 5-star book. As with most novel-in-verse books that I read, the writing was immersive and flowed beautifully. The only reason I rated it 4 stars is because I like to incorporate my engagement level in my ratings. While I felt the writing was 5-star worthy, I found myself a bit bored at the very beginning and it took me a while before my interest picked back up. This tends to happen to me with most historical fiction novels, though, so it’s definitely a personal problem and likely not something that you’re guaranteed to experience as well.

If you are a parent, teacher, or facilitator of a book club, I think this book would be great for prompting ideas and discussion. The ending is pretty open, so it should provide decent fuel for students and communities to explore different interpretations.

Kwame Alexander writes such compelling middle grade books with finesse, insight, vulnerability, but are always so relatable! This book grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go! And to find out that this is the first book in an upcoming trilogy just gives me chills. This story is middle grade historical fiction set in the Asante Kingdom in 1860, which is now known as Ghana. In the Upper Kingdom of Kwanta, we meet a really great swimmer named Kofi who loves his family dearly. The book is a heartbreaking and challenging read.

Although I love audiobooks, I also love Kwame Alexander's prose arranged on the page, so I went back & forth from the page to the audiobook.

Beautiful and heartbreaking. Such an important book for young adults to understand the impact of slavery from a unique perspective. Kwame's words broke my heart as I lived the momenta in this book in my mind's eye. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance reader copy.

Excellent and moving. The combination of short bits of prose mixed with poetry worked well to convey both Kofi’s day-to-day life and the horrors he experienced later on in the story. The story gets very heavy and is probably a better fit for teens than younger readers.

Overall

I have heard endless good things about Kwame Alexander’s work, though I’d never read any of it before. I confess that I tend to associate his name with middle grade sports books, which is a genre I’ve never been able to get into. So when I saw that he had a new historical book in verse coming out, given how popular of an author he is, I knew I had to give it a try!

The Door of No Return is a beautiful, heart-wrenching examination of African culture, colonization, growing up, and all the things that bind us and tear us apart.

While the plot is a little meandering and more slice of life than I wanted it to be, there’s no doubt that Alexander is a gifted writer that can strike at the heart of his readers. There were moments I was bored with what was happening, sure, but I was always invested in the characters, in their life and dreams, and there were plenty of scenes that broke my heart or made me rage at the injustice. Especially keeping in mind that Kofi Offin is only 11 years old! This is a great book for young readers to gain a totally different perspective of a different culture and the ways colonization impacted societies.

My Thoughts

- Despite living in historical Africa, under very unfamiliar conditions, there are a lot of things readers will recognize and relate to in Kofi Offin’s story. He goes to school, for one, even though he doesn’t always like it (though he sometimes does). Often, he learns about things he couldn’t care less about, and he doesn’t always understand why he has to learn about these things. Sound familiar? Offin also struggles with bullying from his older cousin, has a crush on a girl he’s grown up with, and likes to go mess around and get in trouble with his friends. His parents sometimes frustrate him, especially when they keep secrets, and he doesn’t always understand what his grandfather means when he tries giving advice. He looks up to his older brother and sometimes squabbles with his siblings. In other words, he’s an 11-year-old. Alexander does a magnificent job of representing the culture, beliefs, and situations that make Kofi Offin unique while, at the same time, highlighting all the ways we’re all similar, too.

- The real crux of this story doesn’t actually begin until about halfway through, which can make the beginning feel a bit like a drag. When things go wrong, though, they really go wrong. Bit of a snowball effect, really. If you find the beginning a bit slow and meandering, like I did, with too many slice-of-life scenes and not enough actually happening . . . wait for it! The last half of the book is jammed with action. Basically, it doesn’t take any time at all for life to derail, right? In the blink of an eye. What makes the book perhaps the most eye-opening is that all these things are happening to an 11-year-old, which probably means less to middle grade readers (who will be the same age) than it does to me, the parent of an 11-year-old. There are bits of the story that felt incomplete or unfinished, but part of the point is that Offin himself gets no real closure, so how could the reader? The ending is a bit open, too, and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions about what will become of him, which may be frustrating for some readers, but I think it works well for this age category. Middle grade is characterized by happy endings, but that would be completely unrealistic for a book such as this and would ruin the story. So while the ending isn’t actually happy, it’s hopeful, which I think is the perfect tone to set considering the content.

- The Door of No Return is a novel in verse, written in a way that’s accessible even to struggling readers, but with lines that are so poignant they’ll steal your breath away. Make no mistake: Alexander can write. Man, his writing is gorgeous! There are things that sometimes frustrate me about books in verse, but in this case, the format really highlights the beauty of Alexander’s words. Which, of course, are also juxtaposed to the occasional darkness of the story itself. I especially appreciated the way Alexander combines Twi with English, especially in the way that English is the “other” that Offin and his peers are forced to learn. It really sets a different expectation and gives the readers a new perspective. Offin talks about how weird the foreign words feel in his mouth, which I imagine many readers will feel about the Twi, and it’s a really interesting sort of realization that forces empathy in a way I think many readers won’t have thought about before. Despite the sometimes heavy content of the story, Alexander’s writing itself is an absolute delight to read, and I can see why he’s such a popular author!

- The Door of No Return isn’t necessarily for the faint of heart, as it handles some very heavy topics, including character death, abuse, torture, implied rape (offscreen, not named), murder, slavery, and implied suicide (offscreen, not named). But it’s a story that needs to be told. There’s an incredibly poignant line in this story where Offin is asking his parents questions, as so many kids do, about why their life is the way it is, like why the river is dangerous at night. Why they have all these precautions. And like parents do, his father doesn’t want to answer, because he’s still young, and he wants to spare his son the realities of the world. Then Offin utters a line that is gut-wrenching, especially as a parent myself: “You cannot protect me forever.” Because that’s what we all want to do for our kids, right? Preserve their innocence and protect them for as long as physically possible. I have no doubt that this book will end up on banned books lists, especially in this current climate. I have no doubt that some parents will not want their children to read this book, because it has a lot of hard truths. But like Offin’s parents realize, covering up truths does nothing to change the fact that they exist. While some of the content of this book is heavy, I don’t think it’s above the comprehension of a middle grader, nor do I think they need to be protected from it. I say this as the parent to a naïve 11-year-old that I would gladly hand this book to. Not only does Alexander shed light on a culture that is often underrepresented and overlooked, but on topics that are incredibly important.

Kwame’s poetry is amazing and immediately draws you in. I’m not sure how much middle grade readers will get out of this book/if they will truly understand, but it’s a great and powerful story and I loved it.

This is a book that will stay with me forever. The verse lends itself well to the intense and horrific subject of the slave trade in Africa. Seeing Kofi's everyday joys, his curiosity about the world, and thirst for knowledge was beautiful, and seeing all this shattered by callous men was devastating.
I have read a lot of books about slavery in the United States, but this really made me think about the whole scope of destruction starting with one little boy stolen from his family, his life, his hopes and dreams, taken through "the door of no return."

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Door of No Return

Author: Kwame Alexander

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4.5/5

Diversity: Black MC and characters

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, prose, poetry, historical fiction, 1860s Africa, slavery

Publication Date: September 27, 2022

Genre: MG Historical Fiction Poetry

Age Relevance: 12+ (violence, gore, death, vague reference to sexual assault, religion, suicide shown, slight romance, slavery)

Explanation of Above: There is some violence and blood gore in this book. There is death shown and mentioned in this book briefly. There is one very vague reference to sexual assault and a character decides to take their life by throwing themselves over the ship. There are some mentions of religion throughout the book. There is a slight romance where the MC has a crush on a character. There are mentions and showings of slavery.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 432

Synopsis: 11-year-old Kofi Offin dreams of water. Its mysterious, immersive quality. The rich, earthy scent of the current. The clearness, its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets…

Kofi has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, in the village where he lives. He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father’s father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. Some say he moves like a minnow, not just an ordinary boy so he’s hoping to finally prove himself in front of Ama and his friends in a swimming contest against his older, stronger cousin.

But before this can take place, a festival comes to the villages of Upper and Lower Kwanta and Kofi’s brother is chosen to represent Upper Kwanta in the wrestling contest. Encircled by cheering spectators and sounding drums, the two wrestlers from different villages kneel, ready to fight.

You are only fine, until you are not.

The match is over before it has barely begun, when the unthinkable–a sudden death–occurs…

The river does not care how grown you are.

As his world turns upside down, Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.

Review: I am not one for prose for the most part but this book was so compelling that I couldn’t put it down! I loved reading this book and I thought the book had a Roots feeling to it. The book is sad, but hopeful in the end and the book is very historical. It does great to keep the events that happened factual, but written in the ways that a middle grade reader would be able to understand and comprehend. The world building was great and the character development was as well.

The only issue I had with the book is that sometimes it did a back and forth narrative that was a bit confusing, but overall I loved it so much.

Verdict: It was good! Highly recommend!

WOW! Kwame Alexander delivers a powerful novel-in-verse. I didn't know what I would think of this format, but it enabled difficult topics and emotions to be portrayed even more powerfully. Kofi Offin is and 11 year old living in Ghana in 1860. Kofi has big dreams, but "monsters" lurk everywhere - in the river, in the woods, in his dreams. Kofi is a witness to atrocities against his own family and violence against his village. A hard but beautifully written book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the advanced e-copy of this book.

This book was EXCELLENT and will stay with me for a long time. I believe this book belongs in middle school libraries and curriculum everywhere and I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy!

Wow. I know, it’s very rare for me to start a review like this, but guys. WOW! For a middle grade novel, this book gets real deep, and that’s what we need to in today’s society. Where books are getting banned just for shits and giggles. This is a book that needs to be on everyone’s shelves. This book takes you on an emotional journey of love, loss, betrayal, survival – oh and it’s written in prose btw.

We are sent to 1860’s Ghana, where we meet Kofi, who’s part of the Asante Kingdom. In the kingdom there are these festivals where they hold wrestling matches. Kofi wins his match but ends up killing his opponent. His opponent happens to be someone of great importance to the kingdom… and now Kofi
is stolen from his home and is now a slave.

Y’all, the amount of tears I’ve shed behind this book. I absolutely loved it, and I cannot wait for the next installment to come out. It’s a must read for everyone. I plan on picking up the audio as well, I can only imagine how haunting the voice acting is.

This was a powerful and emotional story. Kwame Alexander delivers a beautifully written book in verse. There were so many beautiful moments in the writing and in Kofi’s journey, but when tragic events started happening, Kofi’s story became heavy and heartbreaking.

There were a lot of lines of verse that I enjoyed, and this story left me feeling emotional days after I finished. This is my first time reading a Kwame Alexander novel and a novel in verse but I plan on reading more of his works.

Thank you to Hear Our Voices for the ARC!

Kofi Offin loves to swim. The swift and enigmatic river of his Upper Kwanta village allures him and piques his curiosity about life. Kofi enjoys a seemingly normal life – there’s a budding love for a girl named Ama, eagerness for the upcoming rite of passage to adulthood, a swimming contest against his cousin, and hopes that bullying around him stops. However, Kofi’s life takes a dark turn during the annual festival that brings together the villages of the Upper and Lower Kwanta. Kofi’s brother participates in the wrestling contest, which results in the sudden death of a wrestler. Kofi himself soon must fight for his life after the festival’s tragedies thrust him into a series of conflicts, including one that takes him to the edge of the vast sea and to a new land.

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander is a riveting and raw telling of a young Asante person’s life in his village and his harrowing capture by slave traders. The juxtaposition of that rich life and the slave trade’s horrors make for a powerful account. Alexander’s realistic portrayal of Kofi’s life is at once beautiful then devastating when Kofi loses it all. Just as importantly, Alexander begins the novel, the first of three, from a West African perspective that eventually looks West. This shift gives voice to Kofi and his full humanity, amplifying all that is lost as a result of the slave trade. It centers Kofi’s point of view, and the tragedy he endures will certainly echo throughout the trilogy. The Door of No Return, a novel-in-verse, is steeped in history and its catastrophic consequences, a story that remains relevant and powerful to this day.

The rich history of African empires oftentimes gets glossed over in the classroom. Not only does The Door of No Return provide educators an opportunity to explore the vast influence of these empires - the Asante in particular - but also the devastating effects of the slave trade on these cultural epicenters. While two more novels will follow, The Door of No Return can stand alone and provide teachers with ample opportunities to examine a consequential and tragic period in history from an invaluable perspective – that is, one rooted in the East rather than the West. While seemingly a small distinction, its importance is evidenced through the emotional narrative Alexander gifts readers and the enduring impact it will leave on them.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, for an eARC of this book.

The door of no return is the first Kwame Alexander book that I have read. It's a middle grade historical fiction novel in verse. The story takes place in pre-colonial (1850s/1860s) Ghana. Kofi, a twelve year old boy who loves to swim, loves a girl named Ana and loves his family. Kofi’s life is turned upside down in a blink of an eye, and he’s left reeling from the consequences of one fateful event. The book is based on real life historical events: when African men and women were sold into slavery, brought to America and endured cruelty they suffered. It's important that we learn from the past in the present, which helps the future. thank you Hear from our voices tours and little brown books for young readers for the book.

My favorite Quotes:

"We are each branches of the same tree. It does not matter that we go in different directions. The roots are one."

"Nana Mosi says when half of the moon is bright and the other half is shadowed, we are supposed to let go of anger and hurt and grudge."

"Kofi, we dream to heal our memory or to face the unimaginable truth. Dreams are hints from the beyond, but they can also be warnings."

"There is nothing more confining than the prison we do not know we are in."

"For the beautiful ones yet unborn."

"A family tie is like the river, it can bend, but it cannot break."

"Stars are the eyes of the past watching over us.

Here are some quotes that caught my eye 👀

🌿"The Queens Missionary School at Osu for the Propagation of Better Education and Improved Language"
💭The improved language of whom? The audacity!

🌿"He has been anointed to rescue us from our old selves and help us discover our true ones."
💭YT people were really preaching this nonsense I....

🌿"Her breath smelled like honey & pine & possibility"
💭What a beautiful way to describe his mom.

🌿"He is on a mission to capsize our culture, I promise you."
💭Accurate summary of colonization.

🌿"The mind of a fool is like a broken pot. It holds nothing"
💭ICONIC

🌿"And taller than me by two coconuts"
💭I can get behind this measuring system!

🌿"What shakespeare meant when he said, love never did run smooth. Forget peace. This means war."
💭This is the most poetic way to say I'm going to mess him up 🤣

🌿** " Kofi, you listen to me grandson. Do not be swayed by his civilized brow. We are and will always be Asante. These wonderfuls he speaks of are invaders. They will trample on the very red soil he walks on." **
💭Accurate. Listen to him son.

🌿"And all I can wonder is why we do not spend as much time learning the history of our kingdom"
💭The same way we never learned about Puerto Rican history...

Rating 5/5 : 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This book made me laugh, made me cry, I genuinely gasped at times and took a moment because Kwame wrote these characters so vividly, it felt like I knew them.

As a Puerto Rican, I also related to the discussion about erasing our culture and wanting to form the native people of a place into their imagined image or use them as a way to suit their purpose. All the while making everyone believe that they, the colonizers, are supposed to be the better option.

We know how that story goes, but Kwame shows us how it began, which is a perspective we don't often see in literature, much less in MG lit. I hope this book makes it to classrooms & children everywhere.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Kwame for the ARC!


The Door of No Return is a literal masterpiece! The story inspired by a sad past is beautifully captured in expert, elegant prose, the verses making it easy-to-read while leaving an impact with their elegance and graceful fluidity, the horrendous scenarios painted with raw emotions and vivid descriptions. Absolutely loved it. It is powerful, emotional and should be read by everybody. Highly recommended!

In a Nutshell: I don’t have enough words to describe the beauty of this book. A middle-grade novel in verse, but will suit adult readers too. Deeply impactful, and highly disturbing and simply astounding. First of a planned trilogy.

Story Synopsis:
Asante Kingdom (modern-day Ghana), 1860.
Eleven year old Kofi Offin, named for the Offin river than flows through his village, loves frolicking in the waters with his best friend Ebo. Of course, his life isn’t perfect. He is forced to learn English under his “improved” teacher Mr. Goodluck Phillip. He is bullied by his cousin. And he nurses a secret crush on Ama and sees no way of letting her know.
Offin’s family has warned him about not staying in the river after dusk for fear of monsters. One day, the monsters do arrive, with their white skins and noisy guns. And Offin’s life becomes a living hell.
The story is written in verse from Offin’s first person point of view.

As the author’s note mentions right at the start, this is a historical fiction inspired by actual events, with the story based on the lives of the Asante people, native to the region of West Africa today known as Ghana. The story is somewhat reminiscent of Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’, though this is aimed at a younger audience.

There are so many things I simply adored about this book.
👌 Offin – our young protagonist who is clever and mischievous and brave and so much more! He is the heart of the story.
👌 The secondary characters – visible to us only within the limited viewpoint of young Offin and yet so well-sketched! You don’t just notice them, but you feel one with them because of the writing style. A special mention of Nana Mosi, Offin’s grandpa, who delights with his stories and his riddles.
👌 The narrative voice sounds exactly like that of an eleven year old. Brilliant writing, this!
👌 The use of the setting – what a vivid description of Kwanta! The location came alive through the poet’s words.
👌 The description of the indigenous Kwanta culture and how the unity was being torn apart not just by internal rivalries but also by the Westerners.
👌 The various African sayings peppered throughout the narrative.
👌 The importance of staying true to your culture and traditions and passing on this knowledge down the generations.
👌 The strong statement against colonialisation, visible through the ideology that Mr. Phillips conveys to his students when he insists on their speaking in English. Also evident in his praise of the “Mr. Wonderfuls”.
👌 The title, “The Door of No Return”, that is both metaphorical and literal and suits the story so well.
👌 The novel-in-verse format, that serves this story so well. With multiple chapters, each comprising a story-like introduction and multiple “poems”, the content is quick and impactful.

At the same time, the entire story isn’t easy-going. The first half thrilled me; the second half dragged me into the depths of despair. Offin’s experiences in the final quarter are so harrowing that I needed to take regular breaks to compose my emotions.

If you are sensitive and hence easily affected by portrayal of human misery, please please please think twice before picking this up. It is quite gut-wrenching in the final quarter. This is technically middle grade fiction, aimed at the 10 - 13 years age group. However, I don’t know how the younger ones in this age segment will react to the content in the second half; it is very disturbing even for an adult. Parents/guardians, proceed with care.

This was my first experience actually reading a novel-in-verse, a format I have attempted earlier only through audiobooks. It took me a bit of time to get attuned to the unusual writing pattern. (To my prose-loving eyes, half my Kindle screen looked empty! 😄) However, pretty soon, the words began to fly past with amazing ease. As an avid audiobook listener, I prefer the audio version for novels-in-verse, but I have a gut feeling that this one will be better read than heard; the timeline is too complicated for audio.

I must confess, there’s no poetic bone in my body, so I read the content more as prose rather than as something with poetic merit. Even so, I saw more than enough “poems” where the onomatopoeic effects and the threading of the words created magic. I am sure those who enjoy contemporary poetry will appreciate the structure even more.

I found the ending quite abrupt, though it is not exactly a cliffhanger. An online search revealed that this is the first of a planned trilogy, something I didn’t know while requesting the book and isn’t mentioned on Netgalley or Goodreads. So I will not hold the ending against it, while still hoping that someone marks this as part of a planned series so that readers know what they are getting and that it’s somewhat incomplete.

I stay away from poetic writing, but I am pretty sure that any future works by author-poet Kwame Alexander, will be part of my TBR. Looking forward to the next instalment of this powerful tale. Strongly recommended, as long as you heed the warning about the content.

4.75 stars. (The clipped ending is the only thing stopping me from going all out with 5 stars.)

My thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Door of No Return”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

✨SYNOPSIS: Dreams are today’s answers for tomorrow’s questions.

11-year-old Kofi Offin dreams of water. Its mysterious, immersive quality. The rich, earthy scent of the current. The clearness, its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets…

Kofi has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, in the village where he lives. He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father’s father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. Some say he moves like a minnow, not just an ordinary boy so he’s hoping to finally prove himself in front of Ama and his friends in a swimming contest against his older, stronger cousin.

But before this can take place, a festival comes to the villages of Upper and Lower Kwanta and Kofi’s brother is chosen to represent Upper Kwanta in the wrestling contest. Encircled by cheering spectators and sounding drums, the two wrestlers from different villages kneel, ready to fight.

You are only fine, until you are not.

The match is over before it has barely begun, when the unthinkable–a sudden death–occurs…

The river does not care how grown you are.

As his world turns upside down, Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.

✨What a beautiful book! I’ve selected a few gifs to convey the vibes. If you’re looking for an epic story in verse, you should definitely get this.

The Door of No Return is a powerful middle grade historical fiction book! It was hard not to like Kofi as he navigates the ups and downs. I loved the references to Shakespeare! It's a story about love, betrayal, loss, and survival. It's a fast read especially since it's hard to put down once you start reading it. The writing is beautiful! I can't wait for the next book! Thank you Tbr and Beyond Tours and Kwame Alexander for sharing this wonderful book with me!