Copper Sun

• Amari is a strong 15-year-old slave, and the main character who endures the horrors of slavery.
• Polly is a 15-year-old indentured servant that changes her mind about slavery when she meets Amari and sees how they are treated.
• Mrs. Derby is a sweet, affectionate woman and Mr. Derby's 18 year old, second wife. She gets pregnant by Noah, a slave and her bodyguard whom she loves, and Mr. Derby gets so enraged by his wife having a black baby, that he kills Noah and the baby.
• Nathan is a kind young man who helps the children along their journey.
• Noah is a caring, strong young man who is in love with Mrs.Derby, and impregnates Mrs. Derby. He is her bodyguard.
• Besa "Buck" is a drummer from Amari's village and her fiance who becomes enslaved after the capture.
• Clay is Mr. Derby's son who impregnates Amari. He is left tied to a tree by the children as a rattlesnake is slithering toward him.
• Mr. Derby is the harsh and cruel slave owner who kills Mrs. Derby's baby and Noah.
• Kwasi is Amari's precocious little brother who dies shortly after the massacre by getting impaled in the stomach near the village
• Komla Amari and Kwasi's father is the village storyteller who was murdered during the capture.
• Tidbit is an overly imaginative child. He is also the son of Teenie. He loves Hushpuppy, his dog, very much, and hates the thought of parting with him.
• Afi is Amari's good friend who is like a motherly figure to Amari from the boat to the new land.
• Teenie is Tidbits mother. She was born into slavery. She is the head chef at Derbyshire farms. She helps Amari settle in and gives Amari and Polly jobs to help around the kitchen

The beginning of the book is set in Ziavi which is the African village that Amari and Besa have grown up in. Then they are taken away to Cape Coast Castle and are loaded onto the slave ships to America. They are then sold and Amari goes to Charlestown, South Carolina. In the end, they make it to Fort Mose, Florida. The time period for this book is around the 1700s.

When Draper traveled to Ghana, West Africa, she visited the Point of No Return and the castles had thousands of slaves that were kept before getting on the ship which made her inspired to write this novel.[1]

Copper Sun addresses issues of the African Slave Trade, slavery in America, and freedom.[2] Beverly Almond noted that the novel expresses “unimaginable hardship” and “starvation and disease”.[3] Another critic claimed that the book showed themes of "pain, hope, and determination" and "human exploitation and suffering".[4] Kirkus Reviews added the novel showed "cynicism and realistic outlook".[5]

Most critics saw Copper Sun as “unflinching and unforgettable”.[6] Another critic thought of the novel as “character driven, with a fast moving plot, and unforgettable characters”.[7] Agreeing, another critic noted that the novel was "horrific" "multi-faceted" and that "[they were] afraid to turn the page"[8]

Sharon Draper's Copper Sun won the Coretta Scott King award in 2007.[9]

• Draper, Sharon (2006). Copper Sun. New York, New York: Simon Pulse. pp. 302. ISBN 978-1-4169-5348-7.