Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed Copper Sun (Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner) on + 5322 more book reviews
Reviewed by Cana Rensberger for TeensReadToo.com
have been a fan of Sharon M. Draper for some time. She is a master at writing realistic fiction. COPPER SUN is her first historical fiction and it is amazing -- as well as frighteningly authentic.
This book follows the trials and tribulations of Amari, a fifteen-year-old African maiden. After witnessing the slaughter of both the old and young in her African village, including her parents and her young brother, she is chained, by feet, hands, and neck, lined up, and herded miles on foot to the ocean by pale skinned visitors with fire sticks. She watches her fellow Africans suffer incomprehensible humiliation and death at the hands of their captors as they are shipped like animal cargo across the ocean. The life that awaits her is nothing like she could have ever imagined.
Amari must adapt to life as a purchased slave on a rice plantation, a life that includes atrocities committed upon her by her white owners. She meets Polly, an indentured servant who has dreams of making it to the big house and being a fine lady of standing. Instead, Polly lives in the slave quarters and finds she's given the chore of civilizing Amari, now called Myna, and teaching her enough English to work. After witnessing murder, the two girls find themselves thrown together in a desperate run for freedom.
This is not just another book about slavery. This is a book about something real and tangible. Ms. Draper's writing is so vivid that you can smell the rank odors beneath ship. You can feel the pain of being lashed with a whip. Your throat will constrict at the heart-wrenching pain of a mother and child being forced apart. You will also celebrate the strength and spirit of Amari and those she inspires.
COPPER SUN won the Coretta Scott King Award. This is a book I will make sure goes on my classroom shelves.
have been a fan of Sharon M. Draper for some time. She is a master at writing realistic fiction. COPPER SUN is her first historical fiction and it is amazing -- as well as frighteningly authentic.
This book follows the trials and tribulations of Amari, a fifteen-year-old African maiden. After witnessing the slaughter of both the old and young in her African village, including her parents and her young brother, she is chained, by feet, hands, and neck, lined up, and herded miles on foot to the ocean by pale skinned visitors with fire sticks. She watches her fellow Africans suffer incomprehensible humiliation and death at the hands of their captors as they are shipped like animal cargo across the ocean. The life that awaits her is nothing like she could have ever imagined.
Amari must adapt to life as a purchased slave on a rice plantation, a life that includes atrocities committed upon her by her white owners. She meets Polly, an indentured servant who has dreams of making it to the big house and being a fine lady of standing. Instead, Polly lives in the slave quarters and finds she's given the chore of civilizing Amari, now called Myna, and teaching her enough English to work. After witnessing murder, the two girls find themselves thrown together in a desperate run for freedom.
This is not just another book about slavery. This is a book about something real and tangible. Ms. Draper's writing is so vivid that you can smell the rank odors beneath ship. You can feel the pain of being lashed with a whip. Your throat will constrict at the heart-wrenching pain of a mother and child being forced apart. You will also celebrate the strength and spirit of Amari and those she inspires.
COPPER SUN won the Coretta Scott King Award. This is a book I will make sure goes on my classroom shelves.
Brandon J. (bran-flakes14) reviewed Copper Sun (Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner) on + 72 more book reviews
Sharon Draper's "Copper Sun" is a stunning work of historical fiction that conveys the horrors of slavery from a unique point of view. Told entirely from a young slave girl's eyes, the book if full of undeniably human characters and explicit, though not unbearable, scenes of slave life. The writing is definitely geared to young adults, so this is a great read to help expand a teenager's knowledge of slavery in the United States. The main character is loveable and strong, and the various supporting players, both good and bad, are involving and deftly-written. The story takes unexpected turns and goes places I wasn't expecting, so it turned out to be a rather unique read, too. I've only read a handful of books in one sitting in my entire life, and this was one of those books! Highly, highly recommended!
Pamela C. (pj-s-bookcorner) reviewed Copper Sun (Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner) on + 885 more book reviews
This is actually a YA book. What an amazing read. Amari and others from her tribe are abducted in Africa and sold into slavery. They arrive in American in the Carolina colony where she is bought as a birthday present for the owner's son. The story of torture, abuse, strong spirit and friendship that is represented by Amari is incredible. This is an informative, heartbreaking and inspirational story.
