Copper Sun

Author: Sharon Draper
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN-13:  978-0-689-82181-3
ISBN-10: 0-689-82181-6  
Year Published: 2008
No. Pages: 302
Genre: Historical Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Katie

Fifteen-year-old Amari loves life in her home village in Africa. She spends her days teasing her younger brother Kwasi and daydreaming about her soon-to-be husband Besa. Amari’s carefree life changes when Besa spots a band of white-skinned Europeans heading down the path to their village. A feast is declared to welcome the visitors.

The village of Ziavi puts on a celebration full of storytelling, dancing and drumming. Before they can finish the festivities the visitors start killing the adults and young children of the village. Her brother tries to get her to run into the jungle but as they do, he is shot and Amari is chained and forced to walk across Africa with others from her village for days on end. Amari is soon packed onto a ship where those who die are tossed overboard. Amari survives with the encouragement of a woman named Afi, as she soon discovers that she is aboard a slave ship. Upon arrival to America, she is bought by Mr Derby, a rich white man as a birthday present for his son. Amari meets Polly, an indentured servant and the two girls bond with one another in order to survive. Will Amari ever find the freedom she dreams of?

Copper Sun is a historical fiction book from 1738, back in the times of slavery. The novel was written in third-person, giving me not only Amari or Polly’s point of view, but also their perspectives of what happened around them on their many journeys through slavery and abuse. I believe that made the plot more effective, for without third-person you wouldn’t experience to the same degree what the characters felt or experienced.

Sharon Draper did a great job bringing me back through time to a time in history when slavery was common and accepted. One way Draper accomplished this was by using the language of that time, and by including true historical facts and locations into the storyline. Draper made me think about our past in humanity once I had read the novel; the racism and sexism of that time is appalling and I now think about humanity in the 18 and 1900s different. She helped me see the 20th century better through the eyes and thoughts of Amari and Polly. I now see how much humanity has slowly changed in positive ways. This tells me that humanity can continue to change and improve.

Draper used plentiful imagery throughout the novel, switching between Amari and Polly’s point of view whenever needed. This helped me understand what was going on, using Polly’s point of view whenever there was an important conversation in English, and Amari’s when it was African. I feel this improved the plot, as the reader wouldn’t know half of what was happening without switching views from Amari to Polly.

“Polly really didn’t like Negroes. As far as she was concerned, they should all get shipped back to Africa or wherever it was they came from. They talked funny, they smelled bad and they were ugly. How could the good Lord have made such creatures? Polly wondered as she glanced with boredom at the slave sale. Dark skin, big lips, and hair the texture of a briar brush--they were just plain unpleasant to deal with. Besides, Negroes made it difficult for regular folks like herself to get work. Who could compete with somebody who worked for free?”

One of my favorite characters was Polly. Her initial disgust for Amari and the other black slaves made Copper Sun more realistic in terms of the relations between the white Americans and the African slaves. She changed from being bitter to Amari and not wanting anything to do with her, to helping and supporting her, which helped me understand how a citizen of a town with slaves might feel to a slave they got to know after a period of time.

I rated this novel a 10 out of 10. Copper Sun gave me a third-person view of what happened during the 19th and 20th century, containing a lot of information and details that would normally be missed. Draper included a lot of descriptive imagery in Copper Sun, which painted the scene in my head as I read. For example, this passage;

“To the left and apart from the other shelters in the village stood the home of the chief elder. It was larger than most, made of sturdy wood and bamboo, with thick thatch made from palm leaves making up the roof. The chief elder’s two wives chattered cheerfully together as they pounded cassava fufu for his evening meal. Amari called out to them as she passed and bowed with respect.”

Which offers a descriptive scene of Ziavi’s chief’s house.

Copper Sun is by far one of my favorite novels along with The Book of Negroes, which follows another story of a slave stolen from her home in Africa. These two books relate well; they both have a slightly similar plot and storyline although The Book of Negroes is much more complex, and I would recommend that novel for more experienced readers. Copper Sun offers a less complicated yet still intense storyline and the reader can enjoy a smaller book than The Book of Negroes while still getting a similar experience from reading the novel.