Copper Sun

Description

“Copper Sun is the epic story of a young girl torn from her African village, sold into slavery, and stripped of everything she has ever known—except hope.

Slave traders invade Amari’s African village, and she is dragged to a ship bound for the Carolinas. Bought by a plantation owner, Amari befriends a white indentured servant named Polly and struggles to hold on to her memories, in this Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel.” – publisher

My Spirit Speaks: A Note From Sharon Draper

“Copper Sun is unlike anything I’ve ever written. It is the book of my heart, the book of my spirit. I went to Ghana several years ago and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the land and people, as well as the history of the place that hovered just out of reach. When I visited the slave castles, where millions of Africans were housed like cattle before being shipped as cargo and sold as slaves, I felt their spirits crying out to me. When I crawled on my hands and knees through the “door of no return,” which led from the darkness of the prison to the incomprehensible vastness of a beach, I knew I had to tell the story of just one of those who had passed that way.

The story of Amari is fictional, of course, but is based on the horrible reality of the slave trade. I have spent almost ten years doing research on this novel and editing it for accuracy of fact as well as sincerity of spirit. It is important to me that I represent her well. She has become a part of who I am. It is as if I am her voice speaking across the ages.

Since this is a big departure from my usual contemporary novels of teenagers, homework, and social problems, I want to make sure that young readers, who might think they don’t want to read historical fiction, are drawn in from the beginning, so the novel is character-driven, with a fast-moving plot, shocking developments, and unforgettable characters. I want young readers to ask themselves, “What if that had been me? How would I have coped as a fifteen-year-old slave?

This book is dedicated to all the millions of girls like Amari who died during that process–as well as those who lived and suffered, but endured. I also dedicate this to all those who came before me–the untold multitudes of ancestors who needed a voice. I speak for them. Amari carries their spirit. She carries mine as well.” – Author’23

Paperback

314 pages

Ages 14-17