Cover Image: The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

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Member Reviews

I was not a fan of The Underground Railroad, but wanted to give Whitehead another shot. I avoided reading the ARC because I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. I’m so glad I finally read it. This story as a whole was gut wrenching, but the story of friendship I such devastating circumstances was filled with hope. I think this one will stay with me for a long time.

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It was an amazing experience to learn about the Florida School for Boys, a real-life place, through the eyes of two fictional black children written by the masterful hand of Colson Whitehead. I highly recommend this book to librarians, adults interested in history and social justice, and higher-level young adults.

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I knew the young black boy was in trouble from the get-go; things were just going too well for him. My heart cried when Elwood was sent to Nickel's "school" due to the fact that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it was obvious there were many hard times ahead. And so there were, from sadistic people in charge to not enough food to eat. It is a sad, difficult story. Elwood is an idealist and clings to Dr. Martin Luther King's "Throw us in jail, and we will still love you." Turner, Elwood's friend, is a realist with survivor instincts. Things get messy; however, in spite of all that happens, there is a hopeful ending, of which I am most grateful. This is an excellent read inspired by a reform school in Florida I hope our society reaps good from it.

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The Nickel Boys was a fascinating fictionalization of a true American story. Colson Whitehead lets readers experience the horror of this boys school while focusing on the mindset of the main character who is coming to realize the depths of what he is experiencing. As Elwood gets less and less freedom, he begins to understand that he deserves so much more. The shocking reveal at the end was a heart-rending but realistic close to The Nickel Boys.

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In his latest historical novel, Whitehead tells the story of a reform school set in the Deep South during the Jim Crow years. Elwood Curtis, a slightly quixotic African American boy with dreams of college and joining Dr. Martin Luther King’s work, is sentenced to Nickel for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There, he meets Jack Turner, a more practical-minded boy with dreams and plans of his own. Through these two well-wrought characters, Whitehead gives voice to many boys who were broken, beat-down, and even killed by a hateful, unjust system. But even as he chronicles unspeakable and atrocious acts, Whitehead also gives hope. There is hope in the power of human dreams, and their capacity to uplift not only the dreamers, but those around them.

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Elwood Curtis, a bright young man on the verge of greater things in the Jim Crow South of the 1960s, gets swept up in a crime and is sentenced to a stint at Nickel Academy, a reform school. Although the school has a sterling reputation, the reality is darker, and Elwood must learn to navigate the violence, unwritten laws and tenuous relationships at the institution. Based on the true story of a reform school that damaged the lives of thousands in Florida, Nickel Boys is a powerful and relevant tale of resilience.

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I was just blown away by “The Nickel Boys” by American treasure @ColsonWhitehead. Both its crushing depiction of an awful range of racist crimes and gratitude for his stellar, surprising storytelling. And its moments of sweetness. ❤️Elwood. Get it, read it.

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The Nickel Boys tells the horrifying experiences of young “lost” boys living at a Juvenal school. Knowing these experiences were based on real people and a real place makes horrifying an understatement. Colin Whitehead is an author who brings truth to the past which I have never read in my school history books. Telling the perspective of young black boys during the Jim Crow era understandably justifies how these boys lives were altered and difficult in the current time. Reading this book has enlightened me to experiences of people beyond my world and my personal understanding of the past.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this advanced copy.

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Colson Whitehead has written another masterpiece. The Nickel Boys is a work of fiction, but it is based on a real school for boys in Florida. The Nickel School for Boys was meant to be a reform school for wayward boys. But it turned out to be a torture chamber for so many who were sent there. Elwood Curtis was an innocent victim of circumstances that sent him to Nickel. Elwood was a rabid reader, an intelligent young man with a bright future..He was filled with hope that justice would prevail and that he would quickly be released. But Elwood would learn of the unlimited bounds of cruelty of which some men are capable.

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Wow! I can't stop thinking about this book. The characters haunt me, and no spoilers, but the ending was like a punch to the gut. Brilliant, heart-wrenching storytelling.

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This is one of those books that just wow you. Based on a true story, Whitehead tells us the story of a Elwood's experience in a Florida reform school in the 1960s. Segregated and violent, Nickel Academy marks every boy who passes through. As an adult, having made his way to New York City, he's created a good life for himself, but when the school is closed and archeologist's start discovering bodies of dead boys where they shouldn't be, he knows that it's time to confront his past.

It would be easy for this book to get weighed down with the brutality of the school and of the Jim Crow south in general, but Elwood's courage and dreams, and Whitehead's writing, lift the story above the mud. The writing is very plain, but descriptive, allowing the actions, thoughts, and feelings of the characters to speak for themselves, making them that much more resonant with the reader.

As I read this book, I kept wishing it was longer, if only because it was so good that the ending was bound to be disappointing. I can only say that I needn't have worried, as the ending was absolutely perfect. Kudos to Mr. Whitehead. This is a book that deserves to be read, and re-read, by everyone.

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Upsetting. Powerful. Another deeper dive into the United State's exploitative history from Colson Whitehead.

Obviously, I knew going into this that the subject was going to be a heavy-hitter, but I think I was still -somehow- caught off-guard by how devastating it was. The contrast between our main character, Elwood's, hope for the future -not just his future, but the future of African-Americans in general- and The Nickel Academy's disgusting brutality and bigotry was so upsetting. I went back and forth rooting for Elwood, being excited for all he could accomplish, and despairing over his circumstances, feeling sick to my stomach. Knowing that this book is fictionalized, but that this actually was a reality only 50 years ago is revolting. I hope everyone reads this, and I hope it angers them too.

Thank you so much to Doubleday and NetGalley for the eARC. This review will be posted to Goodreads, and to Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's websites.

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Colson Whitehead is definitely one of the best writers of this generation. His stories and words are so compelling and it’s difficult to turn away from them. This book is no different. It squeezes at my heart.

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An instant classic.

The writing is so smooth and plainspoken that it transports you to a different time and place, a place both familiar and completely alien. What is truly magical about the book is that it seems devoid of time, or more accurately of a time period. Although it mostly takes place in the past, the characters and scenes are so fresh and present that you feel part of the virtual landscape.

A coming of age story and a history lesson all rolled into one, the characters and their experiences are sure to stay with you for a long time to come.

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Colson Whitehead continues his brilliance with this latest book. Set against the background of the civil rights movement, he reveals the horrors of a boys reform school in Florida. Based on the real Dozier school that operated until 2011. The words of Martin Luther King, Jr. whisper in your ear throughout the story bringing hope and heartbreak along the way.

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“That’s what the school did to a boy. It didn’t stop once you got out. Bend you all kind of ways until you were unfit for straight life, good and twisted by the time you left.”

What a story! Colson Whitehead is a master storyteller. His ability to draw you into the story, catapult you back in time and captivate you with his characters is remarkable. The unspeakable things that were inflicted upon these boys was pure evil. I still need to process how this story unfolded.

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Based on the Dozier School for Boys, this one was sad and horrible in that it depicted what more than likely went on in that reform school.

The ending broke my heart. I'm still trying to process what took me only a few hours to read because I wanted to know what would happen to the boys.

If you're looking for a fictional story based on true events, pick this one up. You'll fly through it!

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Not bad, and individual sections are engaging. But ultimately this just makes you want to turn to some of the source material Whitehead recommends in the Acknowledgments at the end of the book, The Boys of the Dark by Robin Gaby Fisher in particular. The story of what happened at this FLA boys’ home deserves attention, but this book does not deserve the awards or acclaim that The Underground Railroad received.

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Colson Whitehead is simply just brilliant! This is my second time reading a work of his and I was not disappointed. So much sadness within these pages but I felt like I walked away with closure after reading it.

Although a fiction novel, this story is inspired by the story of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. Colson’s story follows the main character Elwood from his time landing at The Nickel Academy to his final days spent there. It’s truly a heart wrenching story. Things you’d never wish upon any adult, nevertheless a child.

Really appreciated the acknowledgments at the end as well which gave me some more material to further research this story. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read from me. This is Colson’s 9th novel and I’m definitely going to be going back and reading some of his previous works. This book gave me chills and some things to really ponder on. Highly recommended.

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People will be talking about this book. A report came out earlier this year about 27 more possible unmarked graves discovered on the grounds of the former Florida School for Boys near Tallahassee, Florida, a correctional facility where horrendous abuses were committed against mostly black boys. The Nickel Boys is a fictionalized account of two boys who go through a similar fictitious facility in the 60s called the Nickel Institute. The novel depicts horrors of the institute and the lasting effects those experiences have on the boys’ lives as they try to move on and forget. Because of the recentness of similar events, the story feels part journalism, part fiction, and part social justice commentary. It comes together to create a powerful story of how people get swept up into a system of abuse because of the color of their skin.

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