Newbery Medal-winner Kwame Alexander (The Crossover) weaves together the captivating stories of a Black tween's love of baseball with her grandfather's tales of his homeland in the engrossing and utterly gripping novel-in-verse sequel to The Door of No Return.
Twelve-year-old Charlene (Charley) Cuffey loves baseball. Despite her best friend, Cool Willie Green, reminding her it's almost impossible for a Southern Black girl to play in a segregated country, Charley dreams of becoming "the first girl pitcher to play/ professional." Charley also loves spending time with her grandfather Nana Kofi, who teaches her Twi and encourages her with his own stories of bravery and adventure in his homeland. When Charley challenges a bully in her community to a baseball game at the church picnic, it spills over into the "brand-new, real-deal/ baseball field in Great Bridge," a neighboring white community. A white child is injured, and the repercussions of that child's anger set Charley and Willie's lives aflame.
Kwame Alexander, inspired by events that took place during the Jim Crow era in the segregated U.S. South, delivers a stellar, historically accurate coming-of-age middle-grade novel. Chapters begin with a prose flashback from Nana Kofi, directly connecting Charley to The Door of No Return, then switch into Charley's youthful, rhythmic verse point-of-view. Alexander thoughtfully tackles a violent and heartbreaking time in U.S. history in a way that is approachable for younger middle-grade readers while also relatable and thought-provoking for older kids. Black Star is an outstanding and thorough novel that radiates in every line of text the pride, strength, and determination of African Americans and their African ancestors. --Natasha Harris, freelance reviewer