Radiant

By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

In 1963, a young girl navigates race, class, and identity in a divided world.

4.3/5 Goodreads · 638 ratings

320 pages· 21,148 words· Est. 2.5 hour read

$18.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

In 1963, Cooper Dale navigates fifth grade in a mostly white town, facing a strict teacher and a bully whose family employs her mother. Amidst historic events, Cooper struggles with identity and dreams of being someone else. Her love for the Beatles offers solace, but also complicates her understanding of race. Can Cooper find her own way to shine?

From the publisher

A historical middle-grade novel in verse from multiple Coretta Scott King winner Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. As school begins in 1963, Cooper Dale wrestles with what it means to “shine” for a black girl in a predominantly white community near Pittsburgh. Set against the historic backdrop of the Birmingham church bombing, the Kennedy assassination, and Beatlemania, Radiant is a finely crafted novel in verse about race, class, faith, and finding your place in a loving family and a complicated world. Cooper’s primary concern is navigating fifth grade, where she faces both an extra-strict teacher and the bullying of Wade Carter, the only child of a well-to-do white family, whose home Cooper’s mother cleans for extra income. How can she shine when her mother works for the meanest boy in school? To make matters worse, Cooper quietly wishes she could be someone else. It’s not all bad, though. Cooper and her beloved older sister have fallen for the Beatles, and Cooper is thrilled to have something special they can share. And what she learns about her British idols adds new complexity to Cooper’s feelings about race.

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