The Verse Novel Shelf
Cover of The Door of No Return

At a glance

Published
2022
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Subgenre
Historical
Words
27,401
Section
Middle Grade

The Door of No Return

Kwame Alexander

In 1860, Kofi Offin, an 11-year-old Asante boy in a West African village, dreams of winning a swimming race. Then a violent incident upends his world and pulls him toward capture and the transatlantic slave trade.

  • Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2024
  • NCTE Notable Verse Novel 2023
  • ALSC Notable Children's Book 2023
  • YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2023
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Themes

FamilyIdentityCultural heritageComing of ageSlavery & freedom

Mood

Feels dark, challenging, emotional.

More by Kwame Alexander

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