A Coretta Scott King Honor Book The thrilling follow up to the #1  New York Times  bestseller  The Door of No Return stars Kofi’s granddaughter, Charley, who’s set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball but who soon has to contend with the tensions about to boil over in her segregated town. You can’t protect her from knowing. The truth is all we have.   12-year old Charley Cuffey is many things: a granddaughter, a best friend, and probably the best pitcher in all of Lee’s Mill. Set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball, Charley doesn't need reminders from her best friend Cool Willie Green to know that she has lofty dreams for a Black girl in the American South.   Even so, Nana Kofi's thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible  not  to dream big. She knows he has so many more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn't old enough to know about certain things like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge and why she can never play on the brand-new real deal baseball field on the other side of town.   When Charley challenges a neighborhood bully to a game at the church picnic, she knows she can win, even with her ragtag team. But when the picnic spills over onto their ball field, she makes a fateful decision.   A child cannot protect herself if she does not know her history, and Charley's choice brings consequences she never could have imagined.   In this riveting follow up to The Door of No Return , set during the turbulent segregation era, and the beginning of The Great Migration, Kwame Alexander weaves a spellbinding story of struggle, determination, and the unflappable faith of an American family. 2025 Coretta Scott King Author Honor 2025 NCTE Notable Verse Novels BookPage Best Middle Grade of 2024 Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s  Literature Best of 2024 Chicago Public Library Best Books 2024 Kirkus Best of Middle Grade 2024 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book A Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year  *"Powerful and realistic, this continuing saga offers heartbreaking portrayals of the African American experience."― Booklist, starred review *"A powerful and thoroughly satisfying blend of sports, history, family saga, and self-discovery."― Kirkus Reviews, starred review "A memorable and moving second book."― The Horn Book *“Engrossing and utterly gripping…. Black Star  is an outstanding and thorough novel that radiates in every line of text the pride, strength, and determination of African Americans and their African ancestors.”― Shelf Awareness, starred review “The young narrators of Alexander’s game-changing verse novels, starting with 2014’s Newbery Medal-winning “The Crossover,” use a variety of poetic forms and rhythms to express themselves. Charley specializes in lovely run-on sentences. Some tumble forth revealing her curiosity, worries and ambition. Others, such as this one regarding her mother’s offer to teach her a new tune on the flute once she finishes her chores, amble along before reaching an apt conclusion, like a pitcher who takes her time, then winds up and throws a good slider.”― Abby McGanney Nolan for The New York Times Praise for The Door of No Return : A#1 Amazon Best Book of the Year A#1 Indie Next List Pick A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2022 Pick Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2022 Pick Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Book Pick Horn Book Best Book of 2022 Pick "Absolutely spellbinding: Kwame Alexander weaves together storytelling, poetry, music and history like no one else can. An unforgettable journey to be treasured and shared across generations."― Rick Riordan, NYT bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series *“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…. A first-rate historical verse novel with opportunities for classroom extension activities.”― School & Library Journal, starred review *“Readers continuing the series, as well as those starting with Black Star, will be gifted with a reading experience that is equal parts difficult and beautiful. All will be called to remember Nana Kofi’s wisdom, that “when we water our words, they grow our minds.”― Bookpage, starred review "Alexander turns the nightmare of the past into an epic story for all times and all people. The Door of No Return is a breathtaking, heartbreaking triumph and an instant classic."― Lev Grossman, NYT bestselling author of The Magicians “As I read  The Door of No Return  I kept thinking about how transformative it would have been to have had a book like this when I was young. This novel moves a devastating history beyond the realm of abstraction and fills our imaginations w