THE DOOR OF NO RETURN
Dreams are today’s answers for tomorrow’s questions.
11-year-old Kofi Offin dreams of water. Its mysterious, immersive quality. The rich, earthy scent of the current. The clearness, its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets…
Kofi has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, in the village 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. Some say he moves like a minnow, not just an ordinary boy so he’s hoping to finally prove himself in front of Ama and his friends in a swimming contest against his older,
Dreams are today’s answers for tomorrow’s questions.
11-year-old Kofi Offin dreams of water. Its mysterious, immersive quality. The rich, earthy scent of the current. The clearness, its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets…
Kofi has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, in the village 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. Some say he moves like a minnow, not just an ordinary boy so he’s hoping to finally prove himself in front of Ama and his friends in a swimming contest against his older, stronger cousin.
But before this can take place, a festival comes to the villages of Upper and Lower Kwanta and Kofi’s brother is chosen to represent Upper Kwanta in the wrestling contest. Encircled by cheering spectators and sounding drums, the two wrestlers from different villages kneel, ready to fight.
You are only fine, until you are not.
The match is over before it has barely begun, when the unthinkable–a sudden death–occurs…
The river does not care how grown you are.
As his world turns upside down, Kofi soon 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.
- Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Hardcover
- September 2022
- 432 Pages
- 9780316441865
Buy the Book
$17.99
About Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books, including his Newbery Medal-winning novel The Crossover and The Undefeated, winner of the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor. He is the founding editor of Versify, which aims to change the world one word at a time.
Praise
“An unforgettable journey to be treasured and shared across generations.” –Rick Riordan
“Kwame Alexander has given us a gift.” –Clint Smith
“At once vivid and simple, lyrical and surgical, expressive and exacting, comforting and cutting.” –Lupita Nyong’o
“A breathtaking, heartbreaking triumph. An instant classic.” –Lev Grossman
Discussion Questions
1. The Door of No Return is a novel in verse. What did you find most interesting or exciting about the way this story was told? Do you have a favorite poem or chapter from the book?
2. Kwame Alexander notes that this “is a novel inspired by history, based on the real lives of the Asante people” (p. xi). How do the daily lives of Kofi and his friends and family compare to your own? What traditions did you discover while reading?
3. Starting with the opening refrain of “there was even a time,” many types of stories and storytelling are shown in The Door of No Return (p. 1). What role do stories play in Kofi’s life? Why do stories matter?
4. Throughout the book, chapters appear as conversations between Kofi and other characters. What do these conversations reveal to Kofi? What do you learn from talking with and listening to other people?
5. Kofi says that Mr. Goodluck Phillip claims “he is on a mission to widen the sea of our intellect and understanding,” while Kwasi counters that Mr. Phillip “is on a mission to capsize our culture” (p.28). What do you think of this discussion and others like it in the book? How do Kofi and his friends and family feel about learning English language and history?
6. Nana Mosi tells Kofi that “dreams are today’s answers for tomorrow’s questions” (p. 74). What do you think Kofi’s dreams mean? What do your own dreams tell you?
7. Kofi states that “we are each given first names for the day we came into this world, and extra ones for the spirit we brought along” (p. 104). Does your name have a special meaning? Why are names important? If you could choose a different name for yourself, what would it be?
8. How does the history of Upper and Lower Kwanta come to impact Kofi and his family? More generally, how does the past affect the present?
9. Nana Mosi remarks that “a history unknown will replay itself” (p. 171) and “until the lions tell their side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always celebrate the hunter” (p. 342). What do you think he means by these statements? Why are they important?
10. The Door of No Return ends on a cliffhanger. What do you think will happen next to Kofi? What is a door of no return?