Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

9 reviews

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Bullying, Racism, Confinement, Body horror, Death, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault

tigerkind's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Confinement, Child death, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Murder, Bullying, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Rape, Medical content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Slavery, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, War, and Excrement

allagainforart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This book explores the specific cruelties of a boys’ reformatory school (based on a real reformatory school) in the context of the civil rights movement and the systemic oppression of black people in the U.S. It’s informative and sad. I found it difficult  to follow at times with all of the different student and teacher / staff characters. I appreciated the contrast between idealistic and intellectual Elwood and pragmatic Turner, and I wish the book had spent more time with their friendship. 

Favorite parts: The MLK Jr. quotes and the way that Elwood attempts to apply / interpret them, the relationships between Elwood and his grandmother and Elwood and Turner, the way the author includes seemingly “friendly” white people who are anything but that as soon as the boys step out of line (Harper is the one who ultimately shoots Elwood) (obviously didn’t “like” this part but found the “betrayal” to be realistic since Harper was very much part of the status quo of the school)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Death, Child death, Homophobia, Medical content, Outing, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Gun violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, and Vomit

lexichrist578's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I thought this book was rather plain in reference to the books that have been put out prior. It just sounded like a repeat, in my opinion. If you like the concept of this book, I would recommend Black Boy by Richard Wright or Invisible man by Ralph Ellison. Same vibe, better execution

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

vivboyd98's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Body horror, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship

miachalupa's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

rsteve388's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow! What a story. Historical fiction about a reformatory schools for boys who undergo atrocities that break the human spirit. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, whippings. This story was laid out so well, that the ending is shocking but not surprising. What an excellent story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body horror

gm_vak's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

nibs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I picked up this book because it was recommended by John and Hank Green on a podcast, as being painful but also super important to read. Seeing it was by Colson Whitehead and that it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2020 brought it to the top of my to read list. 

This book was painful to read, but I knew that going in. It is so well-crafted - it could be twice the length if it wanted to be, there are so many stories to tell and the characters are so fleshed out - but condensing it makes it pack more of a punch. Elwood's fierce hope in people and justice is so relatable and powerful, with the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jnr echoing through his head. But we also relate to Turner's lack of trust in anyone, since when the world is against you that seems to be the safest option. 

In the end, powerful people exert their power on vulnerable people, and they either don't realise, don't care or relish in it. And that is still very much happening today. American segregation is gone, but racism and the systemic echoes of it still exist. 

When I first started reading it, I was so upset by the injustice of the whole situation. But as I got engrossed in the book, it switched to more directly empathising with the characters and their immediate emotions, which hits you  in a different way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Body horror