Black Star (The Door of No Return #2), by Kwame Alexander

  Black Star is the sequel to The Door of No Return (which I reviewed in Feb. 2023). If you only have a minute to read this entry, let me say this up front; if Kwame Alexander wrote it, everyone - you, me - everyone should read it! Like his many other wonderful books this one is written in verse, but I found myself wondering what it would be like to read his work in non-verse format. Perhaps one day I'll have the chance to find out...

    Black Star is being narrated by Charley, short for Charlene, who lives somewhere in Virginia sometime in the 1920s. She dreams of being the first woman professional baseball player, so baseball is a part of the story (but you don't need to have a lot of baseball knowledge to follow the book...but if you enjoy baseball, like I do, then it's a bonus!). She lives with her parents and grandfather, Kofi Nana (from the first book), who enjoys telling her stories to help her navigate the world. Living in the segregated South, she finds that what she doesn't know about Black history in America creates trouble for her and her family. Being twelve years old, her parents and family haven't shared the ugly parts of that era with her. But when she challenges some neighborhood bullies to a baseball game (who happen to be White), that reality becomes part of her life, too.

    Alexander weaves history with exceptional storytelling, and his word choices are so poetic and powerful...there is history here but also just the humanness that we all share, both good and bad. It's a shame that lately the forces of control are wanting to keep all of us from reading different perspectives about life in the United States, from the earliest times until now. Not knowing your history does not make it disappear - quite the opposite. Knowing your history, and the history of the place you live and perhaps were born in, is power. And necessary for all of us to continue to strive for a better world. Alexander informs, inspires, intrigues and entertains us with every book, and this is no exception, thankfully! 5 paws!