Sometimes a beautifully written book is not an enjoyable book. This is the second book I have read by Colson Whitehead. The first was Sag Harbor, so I was completely unprepared for the grim narrative he tells. While clearly an important and well written book, I can't honestly say that I enjoyed it. Nevertheless, I will give it the highest rating possible and recommend it to others who enjoy serious and important American literature.

First, let me just say that I loved this author's previous work, The Underground Railroad. I was so lost in that world that I briefly forgot there was never actually a literal railroad under the ground. He is THAT good.

This book, I felt, was even better. Inspired by the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, FL (I was just reading a news article about this school recently), Whitehead brings an incredible cast to life to tell a dark story - but he shoots that story through with strands of hope that will carry you through.

This will be a top read of 2019 for me, no question. It hits shelves in July, so put it on your list NOW.

Big thank you's go out to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for this early review copy.

This book is what I have come to expect from Colson Whitehead. It is beautifully written with not one word in a sentence out of place. The subject matter is absolutely heart wrenching and will haunt readers long after they finish the book.

News breaks that the bodies of over 40 boys have been excavated on the grounds of an old reformatory school in Florida. Remembering the horrible living conditions and cruel treatment he experienced at the school, a man in New York knows he must come forward to set the record straight.

Wow. That's all I can really say after finishing The Nickel Boys. What an incredible follow-up to The Underground Railroad. Colson Whitehead is truly one of the most incredible authors writing today. With stunning prose, unforgettable characters, and a powerful plot that keeps you on your toes, this book feels like a modern classic. This is a story that demands to be told, and I'm so, so grateful that Whitehead chose to tell it.

This is the eighth book by Whitehead that I've read and by now I know what to expect from his fiction. It will be full of perfect sentences that never feel like they're showing off. It will break my heart at least three times in ways that are expected and surprising as a sucker punch. It is best not to come in with any particular expectations, he is the master of any genre he pleases and sometimes a book is not the genre you think it is.

THE NICKEL BOYS is in many ways his most traditional novel. It is a piece of historical fiction about a reformatory school for boys (aka juvenile detention center) in Florida in the 1960's, what happened there, and how it changed every boy who set foot inside it. It is, above all, bearing witness to this kind of pain not just in this one place but of all the places where this pain happens without ever being revealed. It is based on a real school and a real scandal that came to light decades later, too late to save anyone. This time there is no surrealist vehicle for escape, no monsters come to life, the closest things you get to fantasy are the men capable of violence against the vulnerable and the ideals of a man like Martin Luther King Jr., which can sound an awful lot like a dream when you are the one in the dark, painful prison.

Our main character, Elwood Curtis, is a boy who does right. He has always been able to get ahead in the white man's world because of his ability to be polite and get his work done. He believes in civil rights and longs to join the student protesters ramping up across the South. Seeing a boy like him in a place like the Nickel Academy has its own specific pain, but Whitehead is sure to let us see not just this one good, idealistic, intelligent boy but dozens of boys from worse circumstances with their own difficult fates. Elwood struggles to keep his ideals, to try and find a noble way to save himself and the other boys, to reach out for help while still knowing how little the world wants to help boys like him in a place like this.

Reading this book requires you to look directly at the human capacity for evil, just as THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD did. And like that book, it is not a pleasant read even if there is joy to be found in the prose and characters Whitehead gives us. It is just the length it should be, long enough to bear witness and pack its fair share of punches, but let you finish before you have given in to despair. It may take an act of will to open it, but once you are inside it is hard to leave until you have seen it through.

I read an Advanced Reader Copy of Whitehead’s new novel. Could not put it down. Excellent story, writing, and I loved the characters. My new favorite by this author. I kept thinking that these young men were the same age as my brothers were in that time period. Horrid to think about. A must read.

Colson Whitehead continues to be an incredibly moving author with a tale that hurts and makes you sick at heart but compels you to keep reading because of the richness of the characters and their stories.

Whitehead has written a grimly realist novel in which the reader feels the pain of life as a powerless black child. The structure of the novel is very effective and draws the reader in, holding them in some suspense and propelling the plot forward; it is a treat to see foreshadowing so well employed. Whitehead's strong writing portrays a loss of innocence so poignantly that I mourn as if it were my own. The author speaks to the powers of crushing institutional racism and discrimination and the ability of the human spirit to resist.

A haunting and profound story-Whitehead shares a unique coming of age narrative from the perspective of a young man incarcerated in a crumbling detention home battling with racism and abuse. Superb character development and sense of place.

Based on the real story of the Dozier School for Boys in Florida, The Nickel Boys tells the story of Elwood Curtis, a young boy who has learned to get ahead in the white man’s world by being polite and working hard. He has taken the words of Martin Luther King Jr. into his very soul, and longs to join in the protests taking place all over the South. Elwood has a bright future ahead of him, is on his way to college, but his path is diverted when he finds himself in the wrong place at he wrong time, and ends up at the Nickel Academy. There, the rules for getting ahead are different, and the punishments eked out mostly don’t fit the “crimes” committed - truancy, the accidental bumping of a white man, even being abandoned by their parents. The boys are subjected to extreme physical abuse, rape, and even murder in the name of being “reformed.”

That a real school like Nickel existed and operated under these principles for over one hundred years is shameful. Government-sanctioned injustice and the human capacity to not only tolerate but to impart evil are all part of the story. The boys at Nickel, those who make it out, carry these things with them for the rest of their lives. It is a difficult story, beautifully told. The non-linear narrative works well to carry the story forward, and this haunting story will stay with me for along time.

Too often we see a story of traumatic events told with a sensationalist bent, following the idea that "more is more" This book proves how unnecessary that is. The book tells its story in a simple, yet still haunting tone, letting you inside the main characters mind in such a way it is impossible not to identify with him. This story which should feel so long ago, instead, in its simplicity, is infinitely relatable today. This book will keep you thinking about its characters and content long after you've turned the last page.

Whitehead's novel, based on a story ripped from the headlines, is an emotional roller coaster of a book. I loved Elwood's story and in the hands of Whitehead, each sentence, stunning. This is a book that stays with you long after you have read it.

Beautifully written story about two young African American boys whose lives got derailed and changed forever.

Colson Whitehead brings us to a boys reform school in Florida on the eve of the Civil Right Movement.. We learn about the boys both inside and outside of the facility, the obstacles placed in their paths, nearly insurmountable. There are interesting twists in the story, and a hopeful ending. This book is a must-read. As a librarian, I also think it would make an excellent YA choice as well.

Colson Whitehead has been on my to-read list for a long time now. And it was completely worth the wait. This is a great new addition to his work and to our library.

This is a deeply moving novel dealing with the horrors of a corrupt prison system, and the resilience of the human spirit.
I am a huge fan of Colson Whitehead’s writing.. The Nickel Boys exceeded my expectations high as they were.

Amazing. A must-read. I can’t stop thinking about the book, characters, and history. I give the book five stars. A triumph (again) by a gifted writer.

Based on an actual place, Colson Whitehead delivers the story of a Jim Crow-era Florida “juvie”. Robust character, heartbreaking storylines with present day implications. Read this.

This book was a page turner. I must admit, I did not get through the Underground Railroad, and was hesitant to give this a try. I am so glad I did as once I started, I could not put it down. Telling the story of a Jim-Crow Era reform school for boys, the author brings to light the demons surrounding the school through he story of one boy, Elwood. Flipping back and forth through time, the readers get a glimpse of life at the school, Elwood's own attempt at Civil Rights reform, and the man he becomes as a result. A surprise twist at the end is also a plus. Great read. Definitely recommend it.

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this. I love The Underground Railroad, and I didn't love this. So in a sense it was disappointing. But in another sense, he did something very clever with this. But in another sense, it was redundant.



Review copy provided publisher.