Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Saunders
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Moving verse tale of an African boy's capture into slavery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When THE DOOR OF NO RETURN BEGINS, Kofi is an 11-year-old boy living in a village in Ghana. He attends school where a strict teacher trains the class to speak "the Queen's English" rather than their own language. Kofi takes great joy in his family, swimming, and awakening to his first crush. Kofi looks up to his big brother, who 's mentally preparing Kofi for the upcoming ordeal of ritual initiation into manhood. Tragedy befalls the family after an accident at a festival. Then, Kofi is captured from his village in Ghana and shipped along with others Africans to a country where he will be enslaved.
Is It Any Good?
This novel in verse is relatable, moving, and sometimes difficult to stomach. In The Door of No Return, Kwame Alexander highlights one of the less-often-explored human costs of the trans-Atlantic slave trade: the quality and fabric of the lives people left behind when taken to west as slaves. The beauty of the language makes it easier to endure some of the graphic scenes. This may be appropriate for mature younger readers despite the violent moments, which are included to give an unflinching look at historical realities.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the history of the transatlantic slave trade. What did you learn in The Door of No Return that you hadn't learned in school? What more gaps and questions do you have?
Why do you think the author chose to tell this story in verse? Was it easy to follow the plot?
The theme of longing is prominent in The Door of No Return. What is something you long for?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : History
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , History
- Character Strengths : Courage , Empathy , Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date : September 27, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 18
- Number of pages : 432
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : December 4, 2025
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