In the momentous fall of 1963, Cooper Dale wrestles with what it means to "shine" for a Black girl in a predominantly white community near Pittsburgh. Beginning with the Birmingham bombing and featuring the Kennedy assassination and Beatlemania, Radiant is a finely crafted novel-in-verse about race, class, and finding a 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 is working for the meanest boy in school? Compounding this frustration is Cooper's secret shame: sometimes she wishes she were white.

It's not all bad, though. Cooper and her beloved older sister have discovered the Beatles, and Cooper is thrilled to have something they can share. The story uses period-correct details about the Beatles' admiration for Black music from America to further complicate Cooper's feelings about race.