A review by ourxstorybegins
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was fantastic and gut-wrenching. A generally challenging read as the author takes us to Nickel Academy, a fictional juvenile reform school based on a very real school in Florida. I had to take this so much slower than a lot of the books that I read simply to make sure I could actually take in all of the information without any kind of overload. The story details Elwood, a black boy who was unfairly sentenced to Nickel Academy, and the abuse that he and the other boys there experienced during their time. One thing I very much didn’t expect was
for there to be a plot twist at the end, and even THAT was hard to read.
Just, all around incredible.
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