Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
1st out of 102 books
—
81 voters
Copper Sun
by
Sharon M. Draper (Goodreads Author)
Stolen from her village, sold to the highest bidder,
fifteen-year-old Amari has only one thing left of her own hope.
Amari's life was once perfect. Engaged to the handsomest man in her tribe, adored by her family, and living in a beautiful village, she could not have imagined everything could be taken away from her in an instant. But when slave traders invade her villag
...moreHardcover, 302 pages
Published
January 3rd 2006
by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
There are few books I recommend without hesitation, and this is one them. For years, Gary Paulsen's Night John has been one of the titles I try to lead all high school students to. I think Copper Sun is better. As others have mentioned, it isn't a pleasant read at times, but it is absolutely honest in its rendition of a slice of American history. I hope many people, teens and adults, will read it and consider how the past isn't dead; we all live within its long shadow.
Sharon Draper's Copper Sun tells a riveting story of an African girl , named Amari , living in Africa who has everything going her way. She's engaged to the most handsome man in the village , her father is a chief , and she loves her family. It seems that nothing could go wrong until white-skinned strangers arrive in seemingly good intentions of making friends and trading. When there is a bursting sound of a gun shot and everything turns into a chaotic mess of smoke and dust as everyone in the...more
I have been a fan of Sharon 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 b...more
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 b...more
2 likes · like · see review
This novel detailing the experience of an African slave in the 1700's was a page turner for me. I sat down to read a few chapters and finished it in one reading. It explores many aspects of slavery beyond the African experience including indentured servants and the status of women in the past. Most of the historical information (much of which is horribly disturbing) was not new to me, but I had never heard of Fort Mose (sanctuary for runaways in Florida) before. Though this was a work of histori...more
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 ne...more
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 ne...more
Sep 29, 2007
Toughlove
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
any who is going throygh a hard time
Copper Sun by Sharon Drapper, is an exciting, intense, and very descriptive book. The main character is a girl named Amari. She was taken from her village in Africa, after all her friends and family were killed by slave hunters. The only person, who watched over her, was an old woman which she called Afi. This is a story that tells about what Amari had to go through, and how she dealt with it. I loved this book, I couldn’t put it down, it told about the journey from the village, to the ship, ac...more
2 likes · like · see review
Fifteen-year-old Amari loves life in her home village in Africa. She spends her days strolling along the stream, daydreaming about her handsome future husband, teasing her little brother, and avoiding chores. But everything changes the day the visitors arrive. Her world changes forever as the strangers begin killing the adults and young children.
Amari stands stunned as her parents drop dead from gunfire. Her little brother urges her to run into the jungle for safety; they try, only for Amari to...more
Amari stands stunned as her parents drop dead from gunfire. Her little brother urges her to run into the jungle for safety; they try, only for Amari to...more
The story was simple but the strong female character, Amari, took me through her experience as an African that is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the United States. The book tells her heartbreaking tale and her ability to come out of it with hope for her future. The book does not sugarcoat the horrors of slavery at all, but also leaves us with a story of hope and the power of the mind to survive any situation.
2 likes · like · see review
Slavery is an incredibly important part of US History, and something all students should study, as the study of slavery leads to the foundation of studying race relations in the US, how we got to where we are now. Obviously it's not perfect, and we've still got a ways to go. Copper Sun by Sharon Draper deals with pre-Revolutionary era slavery. It opens with one of the main characters, Amari, in Africa, just before her village is sold out by another African tribe. What ensues is a heartbreaking,...more
I read this because it's on a high school summer reading list in Philadelphia this summer. It captured me from the start! Both heart-breaking and inspiring, this book of historical fiction follows Amari, an African girl from her life in Africa to her life as a slave in the South. The story is also interesting because it includes Polly, an indentured white girl. While critics have stated that the bond Amari and Polly eventually develop is unrealistic, I, for one, believe that racial reconciliatio...more
1 like · like · see review
While I knew the novel was about a young African-American girl who was taken from her village, nothing could have prepared me for the horrific journey I was about to take. Copper Sun definitely exceeded my expectations in many ways. The main character, Amari, is a young girl living a very happy life full of promise until slave traders invade her village and brutally murder her entire family. Amari is enslaved and taken to the Carolinas. Readers travel with Amari and are able to look inside her m...more
I attended Draper's session at the International Reading Association National Convention last week. She mentioned that Copper Sun is being taught in conjuction with Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, which I have used with sophomores in World Literature, so I was intrigued.
The book follows Amari as slave traders destroy her home, she survives the trip over on the slave ship, and how she manages to survive as a slave in the US in the 1700s. It refers to her constant rape by white men, though it...more
The book follows Amari as slave traders destroy her home, she survives the trip over on the slave ship, and how she manages to survive as a slave in the US in the 1700s. It refers to her constant rape by white men, though it...more
Jan 29, 2009
Jeff_§of2014
added it
This book was about a African girl named Amari who lived peacefully in her village, untill the pale strangers came. It was from there her life changed, her village was killed, except for a few survivors but they were captured and shipped to the New Land. On the ship Amari was raped and so were the other women. Once the journey on the ship was over, they were auctioned off and another was about to begin. Amari s sold he Mr. Derby who was a very strict master. She decides to run away with her new...more
This book, Copper Sun, is a awesome book about 2 girls Amari, a brought to America to be a slave, and Polly an industrial servant. This book is about how they both had to put color and where they came from aside, and work their way out together and escape from their mean master Mr. Derby and Clay. They learn lessons such as, keep hope, be self reliant, stand up for your rights, and how people are so dis criminal to others. These lessons bring Polly, Amari, and Tidbit (another slaves son)to a new...more
The book Copper Sun is about a girl named Amari. Amari is an African who is taken away from her village to be a slave in America. She is sold at America and meets many people such as an indentured servant named Polly, another slave named Teenie and her child Tidbit. Through her hardships at America she has to face the threats of cruel owners and runs away to avoid it and gain freedom.
I can connect to the world how there is racism and people separate themselves to races and act differently to ea...more
I can connect to the world how there is racism and people separate themselves to races and act differently to ea...more
This amazing book is about a teenage Ashanti girl from Africa named Amari. Amari was about to get married when strangely dressed whites came in and killed her family. She got branded and sold as a slave where she met an indentured servant named Polly. The girls soon became close friends as they ran off towards the south along with Amari's owner's cooks son Tidbit. Amari, Polly, and Tidbit endure hunger and heartache, but the story ends on a happy note.
I can relate to Amari and making friends b...more
I can relate to Amari and making friends b...more
That is how I feel after finishing Sharon Draper's YA novel Copper Sun. Blessed to have read such a beautifully written piece of historical fiction charting the devastating passage of Amari into slavery, following the trauma of the middle passage, her purchase by a plantation owner as a birthday present for his 16 year old son, and the inhuman treatment throughout. And yet I am scarred for the same reason. The book is brutal, but it is beautiful too.
I'm glad I read this. I had been putting it of...more
I'm glad I read this. I had been putting it of...more
This is now one of my favorite historical fiction novels. Having read quite a few Sharon Draper novel, I was a little skeptical of how well she would handle historical fiction. I should not have worried. Draper does such a great job of pulling at our emotions in this novel. The story begins with Amari, a young girl in Africa, who has everything going well for her. Then her life is turned upside down. Draper does a great job of depicting Amari's trip to America, and all that she went through to g...more
This book opens in Africa. Amari lives with her family in a village in Ziavi, Ghana. She is engaged to Besa, a very handsome young man of the tribe. She enjoys her life even though she avoids her mother's attempts to teach her to work with the cotton threads that her father then weaves on the loom. She loves to listen to the stories the elders tell and she loves celebration times.
When members of the Ashanti tribe bring visitors with pale skin the village prepares to celebrate. Anyone visiting is...more
When members of the Ashanti tribe bring visitors with pale skin the village prepares to celebrate. Anyone visiting is...more
This book was so good! I couldn't stop reading it, and I reread it after I read it :) At first, everything seems happy, since the book opens up to Amari and her fiancee taking a walk down the road, but there is the white men, who kills her parents, then her little brother. You could already feel the scene and the atmosphere of the book changing, and it totally grabs the readers attention! After, Amari is shipped on a slave boat, where they are used for entertainment at night, and she wants to di...more
READ. READ. READ. This book is so emotionally filled that there were times I had to put it down to stop reading. It is very much so a teenage book, or young adult. There were a lot of rape, vulgar ideas, and had a lot of harsh realities that most younger kids would not understand and should not be exposed to yet. Being torn away from your loved one, forced to walk miles to a ship, sailed to the America's while being raped every night, and sold just like an animal for a kids birthday is a life th...more
Copper sun is about a girl named Amari who lived in a small African village speaking Ewe with her family and friends.She's only 15 and everything in her life is perfect.Her silly brother Kwasi,her sweet mother,her father who knows lots of folktales,and the love of her life Besa. One day the white men came to her village and took most of her people.They killed the elders and saved the young and healthy for their long journey. Amari lost everyone in her family besides her friend Tirza and her love...more
Wow. I am being completely honest when I say that I could not put this book down! Sharon Draper created a heart wrenching story that had me laughing, in tears, and furious at different points throughout the book. It is a completely fiction story about a young African girl who is captured and brought to America to be a slave, but to think that things in this book about slavery truly happened makes my stomach turn! The mindset of some of the southern people from the 1700's in this novel is totally...more
This book was a hard book to read.
Our PTA recently donated a whole bunch of books. Sharon M. Draper is one of my "gateway" authors, an author I can count on to interest my students in reading. This book was on my list of books to read and to buy for my class but I'd never read it. When I saw it on the stack of donated books, I snatched it up.
It is a book about slavery during Colonial times. It doesn't deal much with abolition or any of the other traditional slave themes. Instead, it begins with...more
Our PTA recently donated a whole bunch of books. Sharon M. Draper is one of my "gateway" authors, an author I can count on to interest my students in reading. This book was on my list of books to read and to buy for my class but I'd never read it. When I saw it on the stack of donated books, I snatched it up.
It is a book about slavery during Colonial times. It doesn't deal much with abolition or any of the other traditional slave themes. Instead, it begins with...more
Another book club assignment. I found the melodrama in the main character's life a little unrelenting, but certainly the author took me into the world of a slave in a way that left a strong impression. The main character is well drawn and engaging. I wanted to keep reading about her. I enjoyed the longer look into the village life and transportation aspects of people who were forced into slavery. The horror of what happens to Amari stands out in stark relief against her peaceful African life. I...more
Jan 11, 2013
Stacy Brittenham
added it
In this book, the reader sees the beautiful setting of the village where Amari grew up. In the opening scene, Amari picks coconuts with her eight-year-old brother, Kwasi. Their beautiful day is interrupted when strange white men enter the village. Amari and her people have never seen such odd pale skin before, but excited to act as hosts to their interesting guests, quickly arrange a welcoming ceremony with dancing, food, and traditional entertainment. The party is shockingly broken up when the...more
Recently, in literature circles, we read the book Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper. I listed this book as one of the ones I would like to read because it was historical fiction, and because we were focused on this topic in history. This book was about two girls: Amari and Polly. Amari was stolen from her now-destroyed Ewe tribe in Africa and was put up for a slave auction. She was then bought from the Derby’s as a present for 16 year old Clay (son of the rice plantation owner). Polly was a indent...more
Copper Sun follows the life of Amari, a fifteen-year old living in an African village. When a group of unfamiliar people enters the village, they are welcomed with hospitality and celebration. In return, the intruders kill anyone they deem unfit for their purposes, capturing only the young and healthy. After witnessing the death of her family, Amari is forced to endure both physical and emotional brutality, and is shipped to America, where she is purchased by a plantation owner as a “gift” for h...more
I'm not going to write a lengthy review here but I would like to mention why this book got 4 stars instead of 5. I felt this book was very similar to other books that talk about the slavery in America. It kind of reminded me of Uncle Tom's Cabin in more ways than one. I felt the story was well written but there was one bad thing that happened after another after another. It was because of that I didn't feel I had time to bond with the characters as well. In a story like this one it would not be...more
From the moment the first line was finished, I was captured. This is my first read of author Sharon Draper and will not be my last. The story is an emotional ride, and very hard to read...I was angry, sad, frustrated, happy for any little meager piece of relief and finally I sighed. Not a "feely goodie" time story, but to know what one can endure just to live, is remarkable. Will keep that in mind when I'm whining.
The story is of Amari a 15 year old African. Ms. Draper gives only a short read, b...more
The story is of Amari a 15 year old African. Ms. Draper gives only a short read, b...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is it normal to have a small hatred for whites after reading this book? | 2 | 14 | Sep 13, 2012 06:19pm | |
| Slavery | 5 | 24 | Oct 23, 2011 05:56pm |
Sharon M. Draper is a professional educator as well as an accomplished writer. She has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year, is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award, and is a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.
More about Sharon M. Draper...
Jan 30, 2013 03:28pm