77 pages 2 hours read

Kwame Alexander

The Door of No Return

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2022

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Important Quotes

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“I hang on to all his words,

the lulls in between,

and I remember

the stories

like a pigeon remembers

its way home.”


(Chapter 1, Poem 1: “The Storyteller”, Page 22)

This section shows The Power of Storytelling and Oral Tradition through Kofi’s love of Nana Mosi’s stories. This sensory-based simile of a bird remembering its way home acts as figurative language, but also foreshadows that Kofi should follow the birds toward shore in the ocean much later.

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“[B]ut I do feel the scorch

of the rod

across my hand

and in my bones.

I even taste its sting

in my mouth.

Queen’s English, please, Mr. Phillip says,

as calm as rain...”


(Chapter 1, Poem 3: “Schooled”, Page 25)

Cultural Identity and Colonialism is highlighted as Mr. Phillip insists they speak English instead of their native Twi language. This is a major conflict in the book, displayed through Kofi’s intense physical pain.

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Ei! The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly!


(Chapter 1, Poem 16: “Conversation with Kwasi”, Page 48)

This adage gives Kofi an opportunity to grow and learn. He questions them and must piece together their meaning for himself; in this case, the words are a metaphor for Kofi to be brave and dare to fail.