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defygravity_88 's review for:
The Nickel Boys
by Colson Whitehead
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
**The Nickel Boys**
Wow! Why did I wait so long to pick up this book? I keep delaying and just staring at it instead of reading it, and I doubt I will ever learn. If you’ve been considering this book, hearing about it, and wondering whether you should read it, just do it. It is truly excellent!
The story is set in a boys' reformatory school in Florida during the Jim Crow era and is based on the real Dozier School for Boys. The brutality and the numerous punishments that the "students" endured there are stomach-churning and gut-wrenching. I urge anyone who reads this to pay attention to any trigger warnings. Extensive research went into this book to honor the victims of that school, and while the book itself is fiction, parts of it were drawn from the author’s research on the subject, which chills me to the bone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail