Follett Content Book Detail: Black Star (Door of No Return) by Alexander, Kwame

Black Star (Door of No Return)

Author: Alexander, Kwame

Follett Number: 2615UE5
Audience: Middle School
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2024
Format: 372 pages ; 21 cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-44259-6
ISBN-10: 0-316-44259-3
LCCN: 2023-058957
Dewey: -Fic-
Classifications: Fiction

Subjects:
African Americans Fiction
Baseball Fiction
Historical Fiction
Novels in Verse
Race Relations Fiction
Sports Fiction
United States History 20th Century Fiction
Twelve-year old Black girl Charley, who dreams of becoming the first professional female pitcher, must navigate adolescence during the turbulent segregation era and the beginning of the Great Migration.

From the publisher:
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book The thrilling second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Door of No Return trilogy 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 second book of the Door of No Return trilogy, 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.

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