Kwame Alexander
Little Brown 2022
418 pages
Grades 7-Up
Historical Fiction
Narrative poems tell the story of Kofi, a young Asante teenager living in a small village in Ghana in 1860. He goes to English school, taught by a strict schoolmaster, and is preparing to go through the ritual of becoming a man. Kofi's competitive bigger cousin challenges him to a swimming race and he is training to win, both to show up his cousin and to impress his crush. Everything changes when beloved older brother Kwasi has a terrible mishap that brings negative attention to the family. Kofi is kidnapped. At first he thinks it is the start of his initiation into manhood and then realizes that it is something much more sinister. The colorless kidnappers lock Kofi up with other boys for days, leading to the start of a horrific journey, bringing the end of everything Kofi holds dear crashing around him.
Newbery award winning Alexander brings to light a terrible chapter in African American history, leading the reader to where it all begins. Narrative poems tell Kofi's story, which starts innocently enough. His main problems include lack of self-confidence, mean teachers, rivalries, friends, and crushes. The tale takes a dark turn as Kofi becomes a victim of the slave trade and is kidnapped and abused. The writing is beautiful and somehow lends itself to conveying the emotion of the subject matter. There were parts that were very hard for me to read and I sometimes had to take a break. Though the book is intended for middle grade, I would suggest it would best serve teens or adults. Though it is our truthfully painful history and an important story, there is a lot of graphic violence and women are repeatedly raped towards the end. Because of the format of the writing, the rape scenes may go over the heads of younger kids, but I still feel that it should be for older readers. Also the writing style is a bit too writerly for younger readers and I'm not sure they would have the understanding or patience to get through the text, making it best serve older teens who will appreciate it. Backmatter includes an author's note and a glossary of both terms and symbols used throughout the text. The book will most certainly and deservedly win awards and will find a home among mature readers.
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