Colson Whitehead has written an important book that explores the atrocities perpetuated by a reform school during the era of Jim Crow. Turner and Elwood are opposites but become good friends and rely on one another to survive in this hellish environment. Whitehead is a masterful storyteller. The reader naturally connects with the goodness in Elwood and wants him to overcome the injustice. Turner is street wise and knows how the system works. The ending is a surprise but not unexpected.
I highly recommend this book.

Colson Whitehead brings Jim Crow-era Florida to life through the real story of a reform school in Tallahassee that claimed to rehabilitate delinquent boys and instead abused and terrorized them for over one hundred years. Elwood Curtis is bound for a local black college when an innocent mistake lands him at The Nickel Academy instead. Elwood finds comfort in Dr. Martin Luther King's words and holds to his ideals, whereas his friend Turner believes the world is crooked so you have to scheme to survive. All this leads to a decision with harrowing repercussions for their respective fates. I recommend this book on Modern Mrs Darcy's Hot Summer Books list.

An impactful work made even more heavy once I discovered it was based in fact.
This story is about a young man of promise who is unfortunately sent to a“reform” school for boys after hitchhiking a ride with a man who had stolen the vehicle.
The reform school thrives off of the fear and flesh of the young men and never lets up.

“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead exceeds expectations. It is a haunting and disturbing exploration of the horrors of a segregated Florida reform school during the civil rights era. The story is based on the Dozier School for Boys in Florida where an estimated 100 boys died and 50 unmarked graves were discovered in 2014. The story follows two young black Nickel boys. Elwood Curtis is an exemplary student with a promising future. He ends up at Nickel Academy because of a miscarriage of justice. Nickel’s friend, Turner, is a street-smart skeptic. The story tells of Elwood’s struggles as an adult dealing with his past experiences and with the boys’ struggle to survive horrendous experiences at Nickel Academy. The apt title refers not just to the Nickel Academy but also the young boys whose lives are deemed worth so little. Whitehead, the acclaimed author of “The Underground Railroad,” again presents the reader with new and enlightening ways of looking at the African American experience. It is a masterful book with an inspired and rather shocking end.

Chilling and fascinating. Whitehead takes on another tour through a brutal world but introduces us to characters and families that we care about.

Goodreads ate my long review, so I'll keep it brief. The Nickel Boys of the title are boys who attended the Nickel Academy, a reform school near Tallahassee, Florida (based on the real story of the Dozier School for Boys). The story begins and ends in the present, but most of the action takes place during the 1960s, with Jim Crow segregation very much in full effect. Elwood Curtis lives in the segregated Frenchtown neighborhood in Tallahassee, and is a textbook "good boy:" studious, hard working, and a student of Dr. Martin Luther King. When he takes a ride in a stolen car while hitchhiking he finds himself on the way to Nickel, despite the best efforts of his grandmother and a hired lawyer. It is only the first random event life deals him, for Nickel is a violent, corrupt place, with staff who steal from the school and punish students severely for the smallest infraction. Elwood has faith that good will prevail, while his friend Turner is convinced that the world is a crooked place. Their friendship becomes the core of the novel, even more so when the surprise twist is revealed near the end. This was my first Colson Whitehead novel, but it won't be the last. Thanks to NetGalley for a prepublication proof.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that I believe this book to be Colson Whitehead's best work yet. His prose is tight, the story is complete, and the characters are so incredibly real that I could easily have met them on the street. The story is about a young black man who is living in Florida and seems to have a successful life ahead of him. He's an excellent student and is enrolled in college courses when he is sent to the Nickel School for a crime that he did not commit. From there, the story follows his struggles at the school in which the boys are beaten, raped, and killed. Interspersed are vignettes about the main character in the 2014. It is a strong commentary on Jim Crow, segregation, and the ongoing and ever-present violence against African Americans. This is an absolute must-read and I would be SHOCKED if it didn't win every reward.

This is honestly a perfect book. I hesitate to write anything right now because my mind is still reeling from this story. There were moments that really felt like this book suckerpunched me in the face. In a good way. My best book of 2019 so far.

Moving story of a boys reform school in the 60s, told by one of its survivors. My first Colson Whitehead book and I will definitely read more of his books. Incredibly well written. The flash forwards are effective and intentionally jarring, with a shock near the end. Based on a horrifying true story.

I hate to say that I loved a book that is so depressing, but I did. Sadly, while the story is invented, there existed, apparently, an institution similar enough that the author based the setting on it. But having a good story is not enough. It has to be well written. I recently read a book that , while the story was decent, the author’s ability to write was comparable to eating white bread. Mr. Whitehead writes whole wheat. Do me, this book was better than Underground Railroad.

Absolutely outstanding. Whitehead has the transcendent ability to make a work both historically concrete and up-to-the-moment relevant at the same time. The brutality of Jim Crow existence is conveyed with devastating power, juxtaposed with the beauty and strength of a young man pursuing Martin Luther King Jr’s dream. The United States of America needs this book. Right now.

Based on the true events of Florida's infamous reform school!
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead!
Historical fiction novel based on the real reform school that horribly mistreated the boys who resided there. Traumatized young men were left to deal with the abuse on their own. The story focuses on Elwood and we learn about other boys’ stories through his eyes as he witnesses them. The prevalent racism harbored hatred to the point of punishing innocent people and sending them to this terrible reform school where even harsher acts of racism occurred. The abuse went on for decades and through several headmasters. After reading this novel, I felt compelled to research the truth behind the story and was sickened at the amount of violence and abuse that young boys had to live through. Some didn’t survive. I truly don’t understand how the adults took part in or witnessed and kept quiet about any of the abuse. What’s their excuse? The Nickel Boys is tremendously powerful, enlightening and tragic, 4 stars!

This book was amazing. I have already recommended it to patrons, coworkers, and friends. It is the story of a reform school for boys in Florida that operated for over 100 years and one boy's experience there. It follows Elwood from the early 1960's until 2014 and describes what his life was like in the school and beyond.

Colson Whitehead was inspired by the Dozier school, a real reform school in Florida. He includes information so the reader can learn more about the school.

I can definitely see this being read in a book club. I read it in two days and cannot say enough about The Nickel Boys.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gripping story of a juvenile detention facility in the 1960s, just as the civil rights movement is getting underway. Elwood Curtis is a smart, curious young man destined to go to college and become a leader. All of that is snatched away when he is implicated in a car theft by merely hitching a ride. Rather than being able to lead in the civil rights protests that are exploding all over the country, Elwood finds himself in a place that remains steadfastly untouched by the the trends of history. He and his classmates are actually inmates in a prison that only purports to be a reform school. Colson Whitehead once again delivers a vivid historical narrative that speaks so easily to contemporary themes that will make the reader wonder what, if anything, has truly changed in our society. While the story does not contain the same magical qualities of The Underground Railroad, this realism makes for a stronger story, in my opinion. Readers might want to brace themselves: there are no easy answers, and little in the way of hope and redemption in the pages of this story. It is still very much worth the read.

This is a damn near perfect little book. In only 200 or so pages, Colson Whitehead examines what it takes to survive — and what it means to survive — through the stories of the Nickel Boys, the young boys and teenagers enrolled at the Nickel Academy. Inspired by the events at the Florida School for Boys, the Nickel Academy is a campus of horrors, with young boys suffering abuse, rape, torture and even death at the hands of the staff. Conditions are worse for the school's black students, who must deal with these abuses along with the daily injustices of the Jim Crow South.

In the novel, we follow Elwood and Turner, two Nickel Boys whose outlooks couldn't be more different. Elwood is an industrious boy, who's naive and a tad self-righteous. When he first arrives at the school (and for a few months after), he focuses on how quickly he can reach the top of the school's ranks to graduate. A bit over confident, he even makes plans to graduate early so as not to postpone his studies at a local Black college.

His unshakable faith in every man's dignity and humanity often causes him to underestimate the dangers he faces. At times, it seems as if it simply does not occur to him that others may not share these views. Even after experiencing the dangers of the school first-hand, he remains convinced that the system is fair and that good people can overcome it through honesty and hard work. He frequently quotes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., finding inspiration in the man's words and hoping that his time at Nickel will serve to make him a better activist.

Shortly after arriving at Nickel, he befriends Turner, a cautious and pessimistic boy who feels the only way to survive is keep his head down and keep his eyes open. Turner finds Elwood's beliefs foolish and tries to advise him on how to stay out of trouble. Failing that, he does what he can to distance himself from Elwood, lest he drag them both down. Turner admits to us and himself that he can't be like Elwood because more than anything, he is afraid.

The novel's end is outstanding and I don't want to say anything that'll take away from your own enjoyment of it. Whitehead does such a masterful job at pulling together the boys' experiences into one powerful story. There isn't a single detail that feels wasted. That being said, I was surprised by how vague some of the descriptions of the abuses were. (I certainly didn't mind it, tbh. I was reluctant to read this one because I wasn't ready for 220 pages of blood and violence.) This isn't a graphic or exploitative story; but through Whitehead's writing, the horror of certain scenes are still powerfully heartbreaking.

Definite recommend. It's a relatively short read, which I think makes it all the more powerful.

Another great read from Colson Whitehead. This one takes us into a reform school for boys, based on a real school. This is a quick and heartbreaking read.

Great book by well known author Colson Whitehead. I received my book through NetGalley. I would recommend it to our patrons.

No one needs me to tell them what a genius Colson Whitehead is, but I will anyway. The Nickel Boys is a horrifying story from a not-far-off part of US history.

Elwood is a bright boy whose soul is stirred to incandescence by the inspirational words of Dr. King. Tragically, Jim Crow doesn't care in the least about his excellent moral fiber and pitches him into the hellhole of the Nickel Academy, a reform school for delinquents, runaways, and orphans where neglect is the best possible outcome. Torture, rape, and death are common. Elwood's sense of justice contrasts with his friend Turner's pragmatism, but both boys find their codes challenged by the horrors they face. The characters are fictional, but the events are all too real.

When Elwood Curtis hitchhikes to college, the car is pulled over, and he is charged with car theft. He is sent to the Nickel Academy, a reformatory school for juvenile delinquents. At the school, students are beaten and sexually abused. Corrupt officials sell the school supplies to local merchants and farm the boys out as workers.

This was a well written and engaging story. The story line itself, based on a true story, was heartbreaking. The characters were very realistic and believable. My only criticism is that the present day story line was a bit jerky. Overall 4 out of 5 stars.