Description

The #1 New York Times bestseller
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing

‘At once vivid and simple, lyrical and surgical, expressive and exacting’ Lupita Nyong’o

Dreams are today’s answers for tomorrow’s questions.

Eleven-year-old Kofi Offin has dreams of water, of its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets. He has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, West Africa, where he lives. He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father’s father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. But when the unthinkable – a sudden death – occurs during a festival between rival villages, Kofi ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves. Yet Kofi’s dreams may be the key to his freedom…

Publisher Review

"At once vivid and simple, lyrical and surgical, expressive and exacting, comforting and cutting" "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 "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 * starred review * "Alexander's rich language is lyrical and haunting as the water, long a source of comfort for Kofi, becomes full of uncertainty and danger. A riveting, not-to-be-missed trilogy opener that will leave readers invested in what is to come" -- Kirkus * 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 * New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians * "Alexander weaves a breathtaking tale that is ripe with the juxtaposing emotions that come with any coming-of-age story. Alexander has written a masterpiece, one that powerfully and truthfully gives agency to the Black voices of the past. Profound and important reading" -- Booklist * starred review *