This was one of the best books I have read. The story was so heartbreaking and to know that it was based on real events blew my mind. Everyone should read this book as part of their study of U.S. history. Colson Whitehead is an amazing author.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Colson Whitehead is a master storyteller. The Nickel Boys is unflinching and important. I learned a lot from this book, which led me to research more about the story. It's absolutely deserving of the Pulitzer. After reading it, I set a goal to read all of Whitehead's work.

I was waiting for the right time to read this book as I knew it would be a difficult read...and it proved to be a harrowing tale of racial injustice. Set during the Civil Rights movement,. Elwood Curtis was following the words of Martin Luther King to believe in equality for all. Elwood was preparing to attend a local black college when things fell apart and he was sent to the Nickel Academy, a place of vicious horror. There he meets Turner, whose cynical views of reality clash with Elwood's continued idealism of Martin Luther King's values of love, trust and freedom. This is is a work of realistic fiction that stays with the reader long after the book is closed.

I chose this as a title for my library's book club. We are located in Florida so we always enjoy books about our area. It's a sad story but an important one to tell.

I've been wanting to read a Whitehead novel for a while. Though I could see why people like him as an author, something about this story didn't capture me like I'd hoped. The writing is good, the topic tragic and interesting, but somehow I felt left on the sidelines as an observer in a way that I don't think was intended. I'm glad I read it, and will definitely read others by him, but I was a bit disappointed in this one.

When you read this book, make sure you are sitting down in a quite room without any one around. Make sure you have a big drink or a large cup of coffee or tea, beacuase this book will hurt, hurt bad. In Florida, many years ago, there was a home for kids, Nickel Academy. It was to be a reform school operated by the state of Florida, but it turned out to be a school from hell. This school gained a history of abuse, rapes, torturen and murder. Elwood, a young black kid, was sent to the school because of stealing cars, and he was told that he was good, he would be able to leave. It never happened, but you have to read the story about Elwood and his friend. In 2019, during a clean up of pollution in the area, 27 graves were found and there are more. You must read the story of this school. Mr. Whitehead's writing of this story will go down in history. It is sensitive, symbolic, moving, poetic and it will surely make you want to purchase all of his books. The man can write a story like no other. Heartbreaking and I cried and prayed for days.

Unfortunately my Amazon account got hacked numerous times and I closed my account. When closing the account, I lost all of my electronic kindle ARCs from netgalley under that email including this title which I am unable to review

Whitehead does it again! Don’t be deceived by the length of this one - it packs a hard punch. Especially timely with the news of unmarked graves in Canada, this books deals with systemic racism and institutionalized horrors native and black populations have faced in our nation’s history.

This historical fiction book is heartbreaking and also an important read about the inequities Black people face. The twist was perfectly rendered.

Colson Whitehead is incapable of weiting a bad book. This one is particularly interesting as it takes place near where I live. Great storytelling.

One of the best books I have ever read! The twist caught me and the characters were compelling and believable.

Amazing book based on actual events. Horrific story of a southern boy's reform school and the things that occurred there. Very surprising twist near the end of the book made it even more compelling and explained a lot about the characters.

This was a powerful and poignant read. I think it will be a popular book club title, and I look forward to discussions on the book, especially since The Underground Railroad has not be very well received by book clubs in my system. Many people are glad they read it, but they didn't really like it. I can say that I am glad I read this one and I liked it.

This was one of those books that'll stay with you. It's haunting, it's hard to read but oh so wonderfully written. Based on true events, this book packs a serious punch. It's wild to think that it took place not all that long ago.

A perspective on the Jim Crow South that I recognized I needed more exposure of as I was reading. Life in this reform school setting is something that you could potentially hear about in history classes, but it's something that Whitehead acknowledges he had to do extensive research in order to construct the story. It's admirable, and enjoyable, yet I still had issues getting into the plot. If you want a well written novel set during the Civil Rights era, then this is one you should be towards the top of your to-read list.

Another amazing book by Colson Whitehead. He brings the painful legacies of racist history to modern day readers. I thought he couldn’t surpass Underground Railroad — but this does it. Very painful read — but so important to remember the stories.

Requested as background reading for an editorial feature (review and article) we ran on BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3943/the-nickel-boys#reviews

A short, yet powerful book about a forgotten dark story. Whitehead has written another masterpiece, a novel that should added to school curriculum and required reading nationwide.

Colson Whitehead has fictionalized the brutal stories of the young African American men who lived and died at the Dozier School for Boys in his 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner The Nickel Boys.
Elwood Curtis has been abandoned by his parents and is being raised by his grandmother, but he seems to have his act together when he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up at the Nickel Academy for Boys. The brutal, unjust treatment is difficult to read and even harder to believe was a reality.
I didn't see that ending coming at all.
The Nickel Boys is a tragic story in American history that everyone should read because only through education can the future hope to not repeat the evils of the past. As Elwood learns from these words of Archimedes in his one encyclopedia volume: "Violence is the only lever big enough to move the world." However, the power of Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks much louder to Elwood and throughout history in my opinion.

In this all-too-familiar story about adults abusing their power over children, Colson Whitehead masterfully takes us into the world of a juvenile detention center in 1960s Florida where "juvenile delinquents" are held, abused, and murdered in cold blood. Brilliantly written with an epic twist ending, The Nickel Boys speaks for the voiceless from a truly horrific period of time in history.