Black Star

"You can't protect her from knowing. The truth is all we have."

12 year old Charley is the best pitcher in her 1920s Virginia town, but as a black girl in a segregated South, there isn’t much future in ball-playing for her. Still, that doesn’t stop Charley and her friends from playing every day in the summer, or from taking on a challenge from the local bully - Charley’s team against his, four innings, her lucky hat bet against his quarter. However, when the ball game gets moved to the brand new baseball field - the one across the Great Bridge - the consequences are more than Charley could have ever imagined. 
This audiobook is read by a full cast and was the 2025 Audie Award Winner for Middle Grade. Each narrator does an amazing job bringing their individual characters to life and while the book is only four hours, it will stay with you for much longer. 
Although this book is technically the sequel to Kwame Alexander’s The Door Of No Return,  (also a very good book!), it stands alone - references to the previous book are well-explained through Nana Kofi’s stories.