The second in the Door of No Return trilogy. This book - again in verse - jumps from where we left kofi at the end of Book 1. We are now in 1920 Virginia where there is segregation and the KKK are apparent. Kofi - Nana Kofi is now a grandfather and the story focuses on his 12 year old granddaughter Charlene, Charley. Charley loves baseball - is good at it and dreams of becoming a baseball player - a lofty dream for a young Black girl at that time. She has a small group of friends and when she challenges the pastor’s son, a bit of a bully, to a baseball match - the consequences are so much worse than she ever imagined and we have another ending that leaves us wanting to turn a page that isn’t there. Although Nana Kofi is not the main character, in his talks with Charley we find out what happened after we left him - although you do not need to have read Book 1 to read this. Once again the author gives us a glimpse of what if was like in Virginia at that time - a lesson in Black history - but also, in Charley, a character who is almost ahead of her time because she wants to challenge her role. We have the KKK and the violence they bring, something that the adults try to shield Charley from until …. I enjoyed this, the characters and getting to know what happened to Kofi. It wasn’t as harrowing as the first book, but the ending still packs a painful and heart-breaking punch. I want to see what happens next.

A historical verse novel, set in America during Segregation. Charley loves pitching baseballs and would have been a star player if it wasn't for two things, Charley is a girl and she is Black. Naively unaware of any real danger in the town, and boosted by a famous Black woman's team in the news, Charley's skill shows up the local white boys during an (un)friendly game. The humiliated teens retaliate, putting their community in the greatest danger.
Kwame approaches this story with compassion, he doesn't flinch from telling awful truths, or fudging events that Black people experienced to make them more palatable to the reader. Charley is socially naïve, her family focussing on what she could achieve and enjoy in life, rather than terrifying her with the dangerous ideals of groups like the KKK. You quietly wish that she had made different choices but the louder voice wants her to live in a world where she was free to be herself and make those choices without harm to herself and her loved ones. Powerful, heart-breaking, wonderful stuff.

I have read the 1st book in this series and I'm so glad I got to read the 2nd book and I enjoyed reading this book