A review by nytephoenyx
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

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

5.0

The Nickel School (also known as The Florida School for Boys) was a reform school that opened in 1900 and wasn’t entirely disbanded until 2011.  For 111 years, this “school” allowed the perpetuation of rape, abuse, and murder.  It wasn’t until 2012 that an anthropological study was done at the site and its darkest secrets confirmed.  Knowing that The Nickel Boys draws on a true story makes this novel even more haunting.

Whitehead tells the story of Nickel school and the boys who went there through the eyes of Elwood, a fictional character and a Black “student”.  Through The Nickel Boys, readers see Elwood’s travails as well as those of his peers and the boys that came before.  From the beginning the reader knows it will be a harrowing tale when human remains are found in an archaeological dig.

The Nickel Boys manages to be a story about both an individual’s trials to overcome the oppression of a racist institution but also the greater problems of unfair incarceration, the corruption of private institutions, and the unfortunate roles race and class play into both of those.  This book will make you angry with the world and sad for the character and angry again.  It is another book about Black pain and trauma, but it’s a different shade of that ongoing story and an important perspective to have.

Be prepared to read The Nickel Boys slowly.  There are time jumps that may throw the reader off, but each segment and each story is an important slice of the story.  More than the writing style or the pacing – both of which are impeccable – The Nickel Boys has heavy themes and the story is devastating.  It’s a beautiful, sad, and necessary story to read and one I recommend with all my heart.
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