Inside this Issue - Jefferson County Public Schools

Inner Strength
By Dyiamond Conn
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper. First Simmons Pulse Edition, New York, 2008.302 pgs. ISBN- 9780689821813
Sharon Draper’s style comes to life as she assembles a story of a naïve African teen girl who learns that
her strength within will bring her through life’s unbearable obstacles. Amari demonstrates the fear humans endure
when put into horrific situations. Amari struggled with the visions of white men coming into her village,
murdering her mother, father, and brother and kidnapping her. “How could they do this and face their own
future?...”Where did these strangers come from?...”Why do they want to hurt us?...”How can I continue without
my family?” The author allows Amari to think these thoughts, and question her surroundings throughout the
book.
Amari’s village is demolished by white American men, and all the young people are kidnapped while the
others are brutally murdered. Amari and Afi, a woman she met during the capture, become very close and decide
they will stick together and help each other as long as possible. On the ship, Afi becomes a mother figure to
Amari, teaching her to pay attention to her surroundings and the events that take place on the horrific voyage to
America. Amari is taken advantage of by one of the sailors, and cries to Afi, who consoles her weeping soul.
Eventually, after what felt like one thousand days, the ship arrives in America, where the slaves are branded and
sold. Amari is bought by a rich white man as a gift for his son’s birthday. “Sixty pounds for the African girl,” …
“I want her for my son. Today is his sixteenth birthday!”
The story eventually grows deeper when Amari is taken to the plantation where she is expected to mature in the English language
and be a slave for her “master’s” son. “Your job is to teach her a little of the King’s English, to teach her how civilized people live and act,
and most importantly, to teach her absolute obedience. She belongs to my son, and when he needs her, it is your job to make sure she is
delivered to him. Understood? These words were spoken by the “master” to another of his ‘human properties,’ Polly. Teenie, the woman
slave that is now responsible for Amari and Polly on the plantation, tells Amari “Don’t let the massa know, gal. Play dumb as long as you
can,” after she realizes that Amari can speak a little English.
Sharon Draper’s style of writing is serious and meaningful, reminding me of Sharon G. Flake’s, The Skin I’m In. Both of these
stories are based around young black teenagers who struggle at some point of their life with a race issue. Whether it was the shock of being
kidnapped and becoming a slave, or the fear of becoming a slave to the negative thoughts that surround young naïve women, it was
common in both of these books. In both stories the girls are scared, weak, and less courageous than the people around them.
Draper aims to make the reader understand the development of slavery through a teen’s eyes. She has constant dialogue between
the characters and she allows Amari’s thoughts to be realistic. Through Copper Sun, the reader will gain a clear understanding of the
humiliation, torment, and hopelessness African’s felt after being kidnapped from their home and turned into human property in a place that
felt like ‘another world.’
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And that’s Life!
By Elexus Anderson
No Laughter Here by Rita Williams-Garcia HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004 . 133 pages. ISBN-
0064409929
Rita Williams-Garcia has always written novels that were related to real life situations, things that people
could relate to. The story begins first by introducing Akilah Hunter “girl warrior” and Victoria Ojike’s friendship.
Victoria is originally from Nigeria and now lives in the Untied States. She visits her homeland for the summer and
comes back as a different person. Akilah, who is persistent, tries to find out what could be wrong with her best friend.
Akilah finds some amazing and gruesome discoveries about life while trying to put pieces together. Luckily
she shares a strong bond with her mom to help her through puberty, but she will never understand female genital
mutilation, no matter how many videos she watches in her life-science class or internet searching, Her best friend
does experience it and tries to explain the pain that she went through
“I could barely stand. She had to hold me when I squatted. My ghost body fled, and my real body returned.
When the pee came out of me, I screamed. I was being burned alive, and for weeks I stood in a pot of fire.”
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Bullying is also a problem that the two best friends have being dealing with. Juwan, the class bully since
kindergarten, just won’t go away. Akilah being the girl warrior she is, she stands up for Victoria and herself, proving that one doesn’t have
to accept bullying just because it exists.
The well developed characters really make the novel worth reading. When Rita-Williams-Garcia is describes their actions and it
reminds you of something you would have done as a child, like running outside with ashy knees, playing hand games at recess, riding your
bike up and down the block and sticking your tongue back out at the boy who sits across the room from you. She develops the characters to
be care-free, but well rounded at the same time.
Rita Williams-Garcia deals with tough topics, such as Female genital mutilation, puberty and bullying, all issues that teens must
deal with. She does a great job showing what truly happens to girls, giving a young girl’s point of view about how one might handle the
situation and reactions to the problems. The novel itself makes you realize how hectic life can be growing up and Rita Williams-Garcia
does a great job threading them all in one novel.