Reviews
"Alexander weaves a breathtaking tale that is ripe with the juxtaposing emotions that come with any coming-of-age story. Through Alexander's verse, readers are reminded of the beauty and unbounded richness that Ghana and her people have to offer...Alexander has written a masterpiece, one that powerfully and truthfully gives agency to the Black voices of the past. Profound and important reading."-- Booklist, "Kwame Alexander's story, The Door of No Return, humanizes the experience of the people who knew the flavors of freedom long before they knew the sting of slavery. Alexander lures you in and endears you to Kofi and his world in a way that has you fully invested in time and place. Alexander seems to trust the heaviness of history to hold its own, and so he is able to tell a story with such a lightness of foot which only further emphasizes that weight of history that is undeniable and irrevocable. His writing is at once vivid and simple, lyrical and surgical, expressive and exacting, comforting and cutting. It hypnotizes and sobers, hypnotizes and sobers, in a rhythm as timeless as the talking drum that carries the tales of his people: Kum-PUM PUM! Kum-PUM PUM! I wish this book existed alongside Huckleberry Finn when I was in school. I am glad it exists now!" -- Lupita Nyong'o, Actress and Author, "A riveting, not-to-be-missed trilogy opener that will leave readers invested in what is to come."-- Kirkus Reviews, "Alexander lures you in and endears you to Kofi and his world in a way that has you fully invested in time and place...His writing is at once vivid and simple, lyrical and surgical, expressive and exacting, comforting and cutting. It hypnotizes and sobers, hypnotizes and sobers, in a rhythm as timeless as the talking drum that carries the tales of his people: Kum-PUM PUM! Kum-PUM PUM! I wish this book existed alongside Huckleberry Finn when I was in school. I am glad it exists now!" -- Lupita Nyong'o, Actress and Author, "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, "Themes of conflict within and between cultures, and of war and peace, hate and love, despair and hope are deeply embedded throughout this gripping tale."-- Horn Book, "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 with characters who laugh, cry, love, learn, worry, and wonder. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. Kwame Alexander has given us a gift."-- Clint Smith, #1 NYT bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed, "Interweaving moments of joyful exuberance and heartbreaking sadness via sensate lines by turns sweet and stinging, Alexander's sweeping novel conjures a captivating, resonant world of African tradition, life, and ancestral wisdom."-- Publishers Weekly, "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, New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series, "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
