Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper Review

Copper Sun follows the story of Amari, who is stolen from her home and sold into slavery. It is incredibly well researched and the characters are absolutely stunning. While it is a difficult read because it deals with a wide variety of sensitive topics (see the trigger warnings at the bottom of this post), this is the best historical fiction I've read in awhile. This book is marketed as YA, but I'd like to say that I would recommend this specifically for the upper end of YA and adults. I think there are more age appropriate books for middle schoolers in relation to slavery, as there are quite a few graphic scenes that might be too intense for younger readers, but Copper Sun would likely be a good read for high school students and older.

What I enjoyed about this book:

- The characters! I could go on for ages about how wonderful all the characters are in this book. All of them have so much depth and genuinely feel like complex individuals. I'd love to dive into details about why that is, but I do want to avoid spoilers here, so all I'll say is that Amari was my favorite character, but that I absolutely adored the entire main cast.

- The settings! A big part of this book thematically is represented in the changing of the various settings and Draper does a wonderful job of describing each of them to the point that I felt like I was standing right there. The setting connects wonderfully with the overall plot and themes of the book and each one could almost be analyzed as a character on its own.

- The information! This book is incredibly well researched and I found myself learning a lot about the time period and about slavery specifically as I read. However, I will say that because the information is so accurate, a lot of the scenes are very brutal. While I'm really thankful that I picked up this book and that the information in it is really well researched, slavery is never an easy subject to read about.

- The pacing! This one might seem oddly specific, but I really enjoyed the pacing of this novel. It was the perfect speed for me and I never felt overwhelmed with information or like a scene was dragging on for too long. Copper Sun has some absolutely masterful story telling!

- The story itself is nuanced and heartbreaking and wonderful. As I've mentioned multiple times, slavery is not a topic that's easily written or read about. However, the way that the information and characters come together to form a plot that's both true to history and compelling on its own is absolutely amazing.

Usually I would also have a section about aspects of the book that didn't click with me, but there was none of that here. This is a beautifully written book on an immensely important and difficult part of history and I can't recommend it enough to both older teens and adults. Not only is the information in it incredibly well researched and accurate, but the story and characters are beautifully written and compelling. This is a must read.

TW: Racial slurs, racist violence, slavery, murder and serious injury (including against very young children), rape (this is mentioned and there's no explicit scene describing it, but it happens multiple times and occurs against children), and sexual harassment and assault.