A review by brudanos
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-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? No

5.0

 What impressed me the most about this book was the authors ability to fluidly transition through the narrative by giving you just enough to fully comprehend without sacrificing any of the emotion required for the story to hit. It was like sitting on the back porch and listening to an elder recounting the stories from their youth, while you sit fully engaged trying to process how this is even real. This book doesn’t dedicate multiple paragraphs/pages to outline the horrors happening but established the cruelty of this world so effectively that a simple line that reads, “at midnight the fans bellowed its news to the half asleep but that didn’t tell them who was getting ice cream”, is enough to send shivers down your back. 

From the very first chapter, The Nickel Boys makes a bold statement and immediately challenges you to want to know more. Rarely have I been so satisfied with the ending of story than how I was here with just how beautifully the beginning was tied to the end in the final paragraph. This is one of the best books I have ever read and one that will sit with me for a long time.