Sharon Draper's Copper Sun

“Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave” - Frederick Douglass. Copper Sun is a book of hope, written by Sharon Draper. This a historical fiction book because it has some true things such as slavery but the characters are most likely not real. This book takes on historical issues, such as slavery and hardship, all through the eyes of two young girls; one, a slave, the other, an indentured servant.
Living in a small African village, Amari thinks her life is beyond perfect. She’s got it all, and could not enjoy the village enough. That all changes when she is captured by white colonist, who leave her with nothing but hope. Through her journey to this unknown land, she has hope to lead the way. Being sold to a white master as a birthday

gift, Amari slowly finds her way through the rice plantation with the help of another slave, Teenie and her son Tidbit. Polly, who is very closed-minded tries to ignore the blackness of slavery. She is searching for herself and what is left for her from her parents. After an unforeseen incident occurs, it changes the lives of Amari and Polly for the better. The H in hope stands for high- spirited energy, Amari kept thought her horrific journey. The O stands for optimism because even when times got tough she still fought on. The P stands for Polly, the young girl whose perspective is also told through this story. The E stands encouragement that Teenie and Afi built inside of Amari.
This book explores the history of slavery. It covers how slaves were brought to America and how slaves felt. It paints a vivid picture of how colonist came and stole slaves from their homeland of Africa. Before reading this book, I did not know about Cape Coast Castle and that they kept slaves in a castle-like building before shipping them into the sea. This book was very action-packed, every chapter there was something new, making you want to keep reading. It’s like those don’t blink or you’ll miss something books. Reading this book

Your reactions to the book – Paragraph 3 & 4 (most important part of Critique!)
Describe the book. Is it interesting? Memorable? Entertaining? Why? Explore issues the book raises: peer pressure, equality, finding oneself,
importance of family, etc. These “issues” are often closely related to a theme in
your book. Relate the book to larger issues – make connections to your life or the worldaround you.
How did the book affect you? Explain. In a book critique, you are expected tomake a judgment concerning the book. You may bring your own experience orexpertise to the critique whenever possible. Try not to make vague remarks like,“This book is interesting.” Instead, use something from your own experience –your reading, your thoughts, your recollections – to explain the book and yourattitudes toward it. Remember that no book is all good or all bad; every goodbook has flaws, so it is not necessary to point out every inconsistency orweakness. Try to judge the book as a whole.
Discuss Author Style and “Craft.” Look for language (formal/informal),
descriptive versus lacking details, use and impact of figurative language and otherliterary devices (metaphors, similes, imagery, symbolism, etc.). Analyzecharacter development and/or motivation. How plausible are the actions/charactermotivations throughout the plot?
Conclusion and summary of ideas – Paragraph 5
Close with a direct comment on the book, and tie together issues raised in the