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Copper Sun
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 village and brutally murder her entire family, Amari finds herself dragged away to a slave ship headed to the Carolinas, where she is bought by a plantation owner and given to his son as a birthday present.
Survival seems all that Amari can hope for. But then an act of unimaginable cruelty provides her with an opportunity to escape, and with an indentured servant named Polly she flees to Fort Mose, Florida, in search of sanctuary at the Spanish colony. Can the elusive dream of freedom sustain Amari and Polly on their arduous journey, fraught with hardship and danger?
302 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2006
708 people are currently reading
13.8k people want to read
About the author
Sharon M. Draper
53books3,718followersSharon 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,095 reviews
October 20, 2011
There are few books I recommend without hesitation, and this is one them. For years, 's 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.
July 26, 2015
excellent read! the author made the characters so real. very vivid details. the book is labeled young adult but I felt it's for a more mature audience.
June 6, 2008
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 village , very young or old , is killed and all the young adults are rounded up for capture. Amari is in pure shock and horror as she is chained and realizes her entire family was just slaughtered. Amari goes through being beaten , raped , fed very little , being constantly chained and living in waste in a hull of a ship. Although she feels like dying , instead of enduring this misery , with encouragement from a new found mother , on the voyage , she some how finds the courage to carry on.
This is an extremely powerful story of courage and trust that is sure to have readers of any kind wanting it.
This is an extremely powerful story of courage and trust that is sure to have readers of any kind wanting it.
June 25, 2022
heartbreaking and beautiful.
December 5, 2023
4.5 stars
This book really should be a must read for any student learning about the horrors of slavery, and the treatment of the enslaved. Beautifully descriptive, Draper paints an extremely harrowing tale of a teenager (really 3 kids) in slavery and indentured servitude.
Having spent a few months In Charleston this summer, I was much more able to picture the landscape of the area, which really helped.
Also, as a teacher, I'm embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Fort Mose until I started teaching a course on it a few years ago. Had never heard of Francisco Menendez. This book highlights it (briefly) and exposes readers to things that were never taught (and still aren't) in most history books.
This is a tough read, very sad and graphic. However, it IS full of hope and beauty.
Definitely will recommend to others.
This book really should be a must read for any student learning about the horrors of slavery, and the treatment of the enslaved. Beautifully descriptive, Draper paints an extremely harrowing tale of a teenager (really 3 kids) in slavery and indentured servitude.
Having spent a few months In Charleston this summer, I was much more able to picture the landscape of the area, which really helped.
Also, as a teacher, I'm embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Fort Mose until I started teaching a course on it a few years ago. Had never heard of Francisco Menendez. This book highlights it (briefly) and exposes readers to things that were never taught (and still aren't) in most history books.
This is a tough read, very sad and graphic. However, it IS full of hope and beauty.
Definitely will recommend to others.
March 12, 2023
Such a thought-provoking book. You begin in Amari's village in Africa and "witness" the whole terrifying process of her becoming a slave. Then you met Polly, Teenie, Tidbit and the masters. In the end, I was rooting for Amari, Teenie and Tidbit. While the ending isn't exactly what I'd call happy, I'd call it realistic. I loved this book and recommend it to everyone.
April 13, 2017
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper is a must read novel for everyone. This riveting novel was written by Draper, a granddaughter of a slave. This outstanding novel is about the harsh realities of slavery. But, this novel also demonstrates that there are people in this world eager to do the right thing. The main character is Amari, a 15 year old girl from Africa who was sold in the Carolinas. Amari's character is strong, confident, emotional and determined......a definite role model. Polly's character is a perfect secondary one to Amari, leading to a unlikely but lasting friendship. The characters are vivid, the plot captivating and the descriptions emotional.
"May your feet bring you to where your heart is."
"May your feet bring you to where your heart is."
June 21, 2008
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 historical fiction, I think Draper imbued her characters with 21st century attitudes. For instance,though at first Polly feels superior to the slaves she is forced to live with, her transformation into feeling that they are her equals seems to come a little too easily. I think the cultural attitudes of her day (and her own personal circumstances) would have made it much more difficult for her to leap to total acceptance of her common humanity with slaves. Come to think of it, all of Draper's characters just seem to fall a little flat. At any rate, I think adolescents will read this book (it is a page turner), and learn a little history in the process.
February 10, 2017
I devoured this book!! It was so good. I would warn that this book is graphic and doesn't hold back from describing the horrors of slavery. I couldn't help but love the characters and admire their strength. It'd amazing to know that there are children who went through this same thing and survived. There's a lot to learn from this novel and I can't wait to do a full review.
March 12, 2018
I also read this book in high school and Anthony was reading it I thought it was really brutal what they did to the African-American.
October 20, 2018
Wow! This was a great book.
June 30, 2010
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 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 with Amari 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. I give COPPER SUN a gold star!
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 with Amari 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. I give COPPER SUN a gold star!
August 5, 2019
This book...just whoa. For it to be YA, it really blew my mind on how much great historical info that it had packed into it. I read almost the last half of this book in one setting. It got to a point where I just couldn't stop reading. This had not been out in a while in our library, but I'm definitely going to suggest it to people when they are looking for a good historical fiction read.
May 28, 2018
I don’t know what to say... I’m speechless. It made me cry so much.
July 30, 2019
3.75 stars! So well written!
September 23, 2024
An engaging story. I had never heard of Fort Mose. I love learning new historical information through reading.
May 9, 2016
Sometimes I just stand back and wonder how humanity can be so cruel. Really, the things humans do to each other are revolting. Rape, murder, abuse, an ongoing list that only seems to grow as time goes on. It's the reason I can't watch the news ever. There are just too many bad things happening on this planet, and I don't need to hear about every single one of them. Of course, such a thing was unavoidable while reading the Copper Sun.
My first reaction to the novel was horror. I was horrified by the treatment of Amari by Clay Derby. I couldn't believe what he made her do and how Polly didn't even think it was a big deal. I had heard of this practice before, but I had never thought of it to this extent. It made my skin crawl. How could someone do that? Of course, many other things horrified me in this novel. Amari's people were betrayed by people of their own color, a rival village. Her parents and little brother are killed, and the boy she is to marry taken away. Despite this, Amari's spirit does not break. She tries to survive during the voyage, learning English from one of the crew. That is the beauty of this story. Amari may go through hard times, but she doesn't lose her spirit. She keeps surviving, gaining strength from her relationships with Polly, Tidbit, and Teenie. Ultimately, she, Polly, and Tidbit escape to start a new life. Another interesting aspect to this story is the addition of Fort Mose. You don't really hear about slaves escaping to Fort Mose, and I think it was a cool choice of location to make. Fort Mose, though only operational a few years, is a significant and often ignored part history leading up to the Civil War. I was glad to hear a little about it.
I'd definitely recommend this. It is excellently written and aimed for young adults, something that always is something I look for when reading about slavery. Definitely looking forward to reading more of Draper's work.
My first reaction to the novel was horror. I was horrified by the treatment of Amari by Clay Derby. I couldn't believe what he made her do and how Polly didn't even think it was a big deal. I had heard of this practice before, but I had never thought of it to this extent. It made my skin crawl. How could someone do that? Of course, many other things horrified me in this novel. Amari's people were betrayed by people of their own color, a rival village. Her parents and little brother are killed, and the boy she is to marry taken away. Despite this, Amari's spirit does not break. She tries to survive during the voyage, learning English from one of the crew. That is the beauty of this story. Amari may go through hard times, but she doesn't lose her spirit. She keeps surviving, gaining strength from her relationships with Polly, Tidbit, and Teenie. Ultimately, she, Polly, and Tidbit escape to start a new life. Another interesting aspect to this story is the addition of Fort Mose. You don't really hear about slaves escaping to Fort Mose, and I think it was a cool choice of location to make. Fort Mose, though only operational a few years, is a significant and often ignored part history leading up to the Civil War. I was glad to hear a little about it.
I'd definitely recommend this. It is excellently written and aimed for young adults, something that always is something I look for when reading about slavery. Definitely looking forward to reading more of Draper's work.
July 22, 2021
The novel is told from two different perspectives: a young girl who becomes a slave and a young girl who becomes an indentured servant to the same plantation owner. Although it is a work of fiction, I appreciated how the author used facts to create this work. It was a pretty difficult read due to the content, but I would encourage those interested in topics covering the intersectionality of indentured servitude and slavery to give it a read.
July 26, 2022
4/5⭐️
December 17, 2023
Rarely do I give 5 stars. Rarely do I think a book is worth a whole class read. This is one of the exceptions.
August 17, 2023
The author of this book does not hold back when describing the horrors of slavery. The harrowing journey of the young protagonist Amari is graphically depicted on page with little left to the imagination. As an adult I welcomed the opportunity to experience as much as I could from that time through the eyes of a child. I wish I would have read this book when I was younger. It’s so nuanced and learned a lot more than I expected about the middle passage, indentured slavery, and a few other things I don’t want to mention at the risk of spoiling the novel.
Furthermore, I understand that while this book is written for the young adult audience, some younger readers may need guidance by parents or responsible intellectual authorities.
It’s certainly worth the read. It has earned a spot on my “highly recommended books� list.
Furthermore, I understand that while this book is written for the young adult audience, some younger readers may need guidance by parents or responsible intellectual authorities.
It’s certainly worth the read. It has earned a spot on my “highly recommended books� list.
March 18, 2025
I read this book my senior year of high school as assigned reading. There weren’t many assigned books that I really enjoyed reading, but this was one of them.
It was so well written and carefully crafted. It created an aching, yet beautiful story. I would highly recommend it.
It was so well written and carefully crafted. It created an aching, yet beautiful story. I would highly recommend it.
May 21, 2014
Copper Sun was the first book I listed for Mrs. Augustine's literature circles. Considering the fact that I am usually too aggravated by the subject of history to even taste some historical fiction, I was impressed. The story is told from two peoples' perspectives (I always appreciate this writing style)Amari and Polly, but is mostly built around a fifteen year old African girl named Amari. Amari once had a perfect life in her Ewe village in Africa. Until one day, white men attacked her village and killed all the children and elderly. The young and healthy like her were kept barely alive and later sold into slavery in America; Amari was a birthday gift for a plantation owner's son. Life on the plantation was a tragedy, and after she could not take anymore of it, Amari along with an indentured servant girl called Polly, and another slave's son named tidbit, took off to find the freedom that they craved so strongly. They do find this freedom in Spanish territory called Fort Mose where they get to start a new life. My favorite quote from the book would be, "As long as you remember chile, ain't nothin' ever gone." Honestly it is probably the most popular quote from Copper Sun, but it's not overrated at all. This quote was stated by Teenie (Tidbit's mother whom is a slave who specializes in cooking) and directed to Amari, but the idea came up various times after the fact. In fact the reason why I love this quote is because Amari holds on to these words and reminds herself that the beautiful background/past that she has is not gone.
February 3, 2008
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 be captured and her brother to be shot dead. �
Upon arrival in America, Amari is sold to the highest bidder.
Amari meets Polly, a white girl. The two girls from different ends of the earth bond together in order to survive.
The whole black person meets white person, then struggle ensues until they eventually come to love one another thing is overdone; but Draper doesn’t spend a lot of energy trying to sell that aspect of the book, which is why the book thrives.
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 be captured and her brother to be shot dead. �
Upon arrival in America, Amari is sold to the highest bidder.
Amari meets Polly, a white girl. The two girls from different ends of the earth bond together in order to survive.
The whole black person meets white person, then struggle ensues until they eventually come to love one another thing is overdone; but Draper doesn’t spend a lot of energy trying to sell that aspect of the book, which is why the book thrives.
May 16, 2016
This book was wonderful. It has been said that once you read one slave story, you've read them all, but I disagree. The personalities of the individuals make or break a book. These people were real. All of them. It got a little unbelievable toward the end, but for the most part it was another very interesting study in human behavior on a journey from captivity to freedom.
June 24, 2011
this book is very sad,sad,sad in the beginning,but the end is very spirit lifting,with a little bit of a twist.
August 21, 2022
One of my favorite books of all times. There are no words but amazing.
August 4, 2018
Read Harder 2018: Colonial or Post-Colonial Literature
I started one book for this challenge (Roxane Gay's Untamed State) and found it too dark. I chose this one instead because it's YA and I thought that might make it easier to read. It did, but just. The start of the book is most difficult: we meet Amari, a young girl of the Ewe tribe. In short order, her village is burnt to the ground, its population decimated and Amari and a few other young people are taken into slavery. It was a heartbreaking read and the story didn't get any easier when Amari made it to South Carolina.
This was an interesting book - Amari meets an indentured white girl and they are thrown together through life at their plantation - but still difficult to read. It, of course, made me wonder why humans are so awful to each other. And it made me wonder what our world might be like if we chose collaboration over the quest for power.
If you want to know more about slavery before the United States was a country, this book is a good choice. Just plan to have a lighter read on tap to follow.
I started one book for this challenge (Roxane Gay's Untamed State) and found it too dark. I chose this one instead because it's YA and I thought that might make it easier to read. It did, but just. The start of the book is most difficult: we meet Amari, a young girl of the Ewe tribe. In short order, her village is burnt to the ground, its population decimated and Amari and a few other young people are taken into slavery. It was a heartbreaking read and the story didn't get any easier when Amari made it to South Carolina.
This was an interesting book - Amari meets an indentured white girl and they are thrown together through life at their plantation - but still difficult to read. It, of course, made me wonder why humans are so awful to each other. And it made me wonder what our world might be like if we chose collaboration over the quest for power.
If you want to know more about slavery before the United States was a country, this book is a good choice. Just plan to have a lighter read on tap to follow.
April 18, 2019
Such a gripping book that tells the tale of Amari, an African girl, stolen from her village and brought to what is now the US during The Middle Passage. It tells the tale of her enslavement and her escape to freedom with a young boy named Tidbit as well as a white indentured slave named Polly.
What I like is that this book tells the horrors of the boat ride over and enslavement and the grueling ordeal of escaping to freedom without being gruesomely descriptive. I'm a sensitive reader so that's always a plus for me.
A gripping read and also lots of information in the Afterword about slavery with lists of websites and books that can be read. Will be buying a copy for my personal library.
What I like is that this book tells the horrors of the boat ride over and enslavement and the grueling ordeal of escaping to freedom without being gruesomely descriptive. I'm a sensitive reader so that's always a plus for me.
A gripping read and also lots of information in the Afterword about slavery with lists of websites and books that can be read. Will be buying a copy for my personal library.
February 9, 2018
This book is an astounding book for all readers! It has a riveting plot, and is ideal for anyone who likes either historical fiction, or just a great book.
While some parts of the book were very sad and hard to read, I was able to power through, and enjoy the ending. One thing I enjoyed about this book was how it said "Copper Sun" multiple times. I really enjoy finding any relation to the title of a book in the middle of the story. It is very satisfactory to me.
Overall, I believe this book is satisfactory for all readers, and while some parts were incredibly hard to read, I thought it was a great book to read in order to expand my knowledge of slavery.
While some parts of the book were very sad and hard to read, I was able to power through, and enjoy the ending. One thing I enjoyed about this book was how it said "Copper Sun" multiple times. I really enjoy finding any relation to the title of a book in the middle of the story. It is very satisfactory to me.
Overall, I believe this book is satisfactory for all readers, and while some parts were incredibly hard to read, I thought it was a great book to read in order to expand my knowledge of slavery.
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