Black Star

Starred review from July 1, 2024
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* There's an awful lot going on in this second installment of Newbery winner Alexander's Door of No Return trilogy. Told in verse, the story picks up with 12-year-old Charley, Kofi's grandaughter. Charley wants to be the first woman professional baseball pitcher--a somewhat doubtful avocation for an asthmatic Black girl living down south during the 1920s and segregation. When Charley and her next-door neighbor Willie get tricked into a baseball showdown against the local bully, they try to scrape together a team, all against a backdrop of plot elements involving Nana Kofi's commitment to Marcus Garvey's back-to-Africa movement, Charley's encounter with Mary McLeod Bethune, and, despite her mother's attempts to protect her, Charley's growing awareness of discrimination and racism, including lynching. The action culminates with Charley's rash decision to move the baseball contest to a whites-only field, resulting in a white boy being injured. This brings out the Klan in retribution, and the book ends as Charley, her mother, Nana Kofi, and Willie flee, driving north while Willie's house burns and Charley's father stays behind to try to save their home. Powerful and realistic, this continuing saga offers heartbreaking portrayals of the African American experience.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 1, 2024
A Black tween's world revolves around her love of baseball and her grandfather's stories of his African homeland. Charlene Cuffey loves baseball; she was captivated after seeing a Negro Leagues game. Despite her mother's disapproval, Charley dreams of becoming the first girl to be a professional pitcher. She also loves her grandfather Nana Kofi's stories and his attempts to teach her his mother tongue of Twi. Nana Kofi was captured from his community and brought to America as a boy; later he fought in the war to end slavery. When Charley responds to a bully's taunts by challenging him to a game, she's determined to win. Unfortunately, she makes decisions that place her and her community in danger. This highly anticipated second volume in The Door of No Return trilogy reintroduces Kofi to readers as an elder, revealing how he survived, gained his freedom, established a family, and passed on his legacy of resilience to Charley. Alexander skillfully builds on the strengths of the first installment in portraying a strong sense of community and family, often in the face of capricious violence. Charley is a well-crafted character who embodies her tightknit family, her heritage, and her keen mind. The presence of real-life historical figures and events helps capture the tenor of life in segregated Virginia, while the beautifully flowing poetry contributes to the book's engaging qualities. A powerful and thoroughly satisfying blend of sports, history, family saga, and self-discovery. (author's note)(Verse historical fiction. 10-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2024
Continuing the story of a Black family's trials, from Ghana to the United States, Alexander (The Door of No Return, rev. 9/22) sets this installment in Jim Crow-era Virginia. Charlene "Charley" Cuffey is an avid follower of baseball's Negro Leagues and aims to be the first female player in the sport. Her grandfather, the supportive Nana Kofi, listens to Charley's triumphs on the diamond and tells her about the skill he showed as a swimmer in Ghana. He also teaches her Twi, his native language, and shares his favorite sayings and stories -- some stories, anyway. Charley's parents have decided she's too young to hear about how Nana Kofi was captured and brought to America, or why "the wonderfuls" (as Nana Kofi ironically calls white people) seem so uneasy around them. When Charley and her best friend, "Cool" Willie Green, challenge the neighborhood bully to a baseball game, it only makes sense that they use the new field in town -- but this decision could cost Charley and Willie more than they ever thought possible. Alexander has created a world that fully immerses readers in the time period and keeps them riveted by this family's continuing story. Charley's first-person verse narrative (with Nana Kofi's recollections interspersed in prose poems) incorporates institutions and notable figures from the era, including Marcus Garvey and Mary McLeod Bethune. A memorable and moving second book in the trilogy. Eboni Njoku

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from October 1, 2024

Gr 5 Up-This sequel to The Door of No Return follows the childhood of Kofi's granddaughter and is set in the time of Marcus Garvey, the Harlem Renaissance, Negro League baseball, and the Great Migration. Charley has a close relationship with her grandfather and loves hearing stories about his past in Africa. She also loves baseball and plays with her friends. A young Black girl, she dreams of being a pitcher at a time when there were no women playing professional baseball. As in the first novel, readers are presented with a main character with a rich and joyful life. One day, Charley and her friends decide to play baseball at the park on the "other side" of their segregated town. This decision has consequences for Charley, her family, and her neighbors. As with the first volume, the ending comes quickly and does not explore the aftermath, which will clearly be a Great Migration story. It seems likely the culmination of this trilogy might be a Civil Rights-era story featuring Charley's descendants accompanied by her accounting of her experiences during the Great Migration. The multigenerational nature of these stories makes them unique, the verse format is accessible, and the references to historical events of the time provides a wealth of opportunities for classroom use. VERDICT A first-rate historical verse novel with opportunities for classroom extension activities.-Kristin L. Anderson

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2025

Gr 5 Up-Alexander's "The Door of No Return" trilogy opened with the eponymous first volume, singularly, spectacularly read by Ghanaian British actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. A full cast further enhances this second installment, set in 1920s Jones Mill, VA, with Hoffman-gravelly voiced with resonating gravitas-as now-elderly Nana Kofi. His 12-year-old granddaughter Charley-spunkily, terrifically embodied by Pean-has the talent and tenacity to become the first female "PRO-fessional baseball player," if only she wasn't limited by the stiflingly racist reality of the Jim Crow South. Despite Mama's protestations-wisely ciphered by Karen Chilton, who also commands additional women's voices-Charley manages to play often with best friend "Cool Willie Green" (dynamic Bullock bursts with energy) and not-best friend Henry (Aaron Goodson accepts that second-class status). When Charley impulsively accepts the local (white) bully Cecil's (fabulous Bullock again) challenge of a playoff game, no one could have predicted the shocking consequences that follow. VERDICT A must for all libraries, particularly those already invested in the trilogy.

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2024
Continuing the story of a Black family's trials, from Ghana to the United States, Alexander (The Door of No Return, rev. 9/22) sets this installment in Jim Crow era Virginia. Charlene "Charley" Cuffey is an avid follower of baseball's Negro Leagues and aims to be the first female player in the sport. Her grandfather, the supportive Nana Kofi, listens to Charley's triumphs on the diamond and tells her about the skill he showed as a swimmer in Ghana. He also teaches her Twi, his native language, and shares his favorite sayings and stories -- some stories, anyway. Charley's parents have decided she's too young to hear about how Nana Kofi was captured and brought to America, or why "the wonderfuls" (as Nana Kofi ironically calls white people) seem so uneasy around them. When Charley and her best friend, "Cool" Willie Green, challenge the neighborhood bully to a baseball game, it only makes sense that they use the new field in town -- but this decision could cost Charley and Willie more than they ever thought possible. Alexander has created a world that fully immerses readers in the time period and keeps them riveted by this family's continuing story. Charley's first-person verse narrative (with Nana Kofi's recollections interspersed in prose poems) incorporates institutions and notable figures from the era, including Marcus Garvey and Mary McLeod Bethune. A memorable and moving second book in the trilogy.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)