By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Publication Date: 2025
Joy for Books Review Score: 86%
Description from Bookshop.org: 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.
Joy for Books reviewer comments: "Written from the perspective of a Black girl in 5th grade in the 1960's, this book opens with Cooper being the only Black child in her classroom. Throughout the book the author describes the main character's experiences navigating her own identity, how she fits into her family, with other children, and her place in school. The verse / prose writing style is filled with many phrases and nuggets of learning that will stay with me.
By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Publication Date: 2025
Joy for Books Review Score: 86%
Description from Bookshop.org: 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.
Joy for Books reviewer comments: "Written from the perspective of a Black girl in 5th grade in the 1960's, this book opens with Cooper being the only Black child in her classroom. Throughout the book the author describes the main character's experiences navigating her own identity, how she fits into her family, with other children, and her place in school. The verse / prose writing style is filled with many phrases and nuggets of learning that will stay with me.