# The Door of No Return

**Author:** Kwame Alexander
**Grade range:** Grades 6–8
**First published:** 2022
**Page count:** 382
**ISBN-13:** `9780316442060`
**ISBN-10:** `0316442062`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-door-of-no-return
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning author Kwame Alexander, comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family. In his village in Upper Kwanta, 11-year-old Kofi loves his family, playing oware with his grandfather and swimming in the river Offin. He’s warned though, to never go to the river at night. His brother tells him ”There are things about the water you do not know. “Like what?" Kofi asks. “The beasts.” His brother answers. One fateful night, the unthinkable happens and in a flash, Kofi’s world turns upside down. Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life and what happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves. This 

## Where this book is assigned

### Georgia Children's Book Award

- **recommended** · 6th grade · Georgia — [source: Georgia Children's Book Award 2025 Nominees (Grades 6-8), University of Georgia Libraries](https://guides.libs.uga.edu/c.php?g=868748&p=10220606)
- **recommended** · 7th grade · Georgia — [source: Georgia Children's Book Award 2025 Nominees (Grades 6-8), University of Georgia Libraries](https://guides.libs.uga.edu/c.php?g=868748&p=10220606)
- **recommended** · 8th grade · Georgia — [source: Georgia Children's Book Award 2025 Nominees (Grades 6-8), University of Georgia Libraries](https://guides.libs.uga.edu/c.php?g=868748&p=10220606)

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