Black Star

Written by Kwame Alexander

Part of the The Door of No Return series

A young pitcher faces a pivotal choice amid racial tensions in her town.

4.4/5 Goodreads · 1,020 ratings

384 pages· 29,213 words· Est. 4 hour read

$17.99Save 6%

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Bookroo's summary

Twelve-year-old Charley Cuffey dreams of breaking barriers as the first female professional pitcher. In a segregated Southern town, her ambitions clash with harsh realities. Inspired by her grandfather's tales of courage, Charley challenges a bully at a church picnic, leading to unforeseen consequences. As tensions rise, Charley must confront her history and the truth her parents shielded her from. Will her determination be enough to navigate the turbulent era of segregation and the Great Migration? Discover a story of resilience and the power of dreams in this gripping second installment of the Door of No Return trilogy.

From the publisher

The riveting 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 thrilling 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.