The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

4 (4)
$18.00

Product details

Web ID: 10918453

NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this Pulitzer Prize-winning follow-up to The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood's only salvation is his friendship with fellow delinquent Turner, which deepens despite Turner's conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers and should further cement Whitehead as one of his generation's best" (Entertainment Weekly). Look for Colson Whitehead's bestselling new novel, Harlem Shuffle!

  • Product Features

    • Suggested age range- Adult
    • Paperback
    • Product dimensions- 5.15" W x 8" H x 0.63" D
    • Genre- Fiction
    • Page Count: 224
    • ISBN- 9780345804341
    • Publication Date: 06-30-2020
    • Colson Whitehead (Author)
    • Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
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Ratings & Reviews

4/5

4 star ratings & reviews

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8 days ago
from Mandeville, LA

Interesting

I understand that this is an important story to get out and it’s horrendous what they went through but the manner the story is told is so disjointed and dry that I could not get invested in it. It jumps around between time periods and characters and I had a difficult time following it at times. It just wasn’t for me.

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

2 years ago
from Chicago

A proven great writer with a compelling story

It’s difficult to believe that the conditions described in this “reform school” existed in the 60’s , but obviously they did. In a way it’s a horror story with an intriguing ending that I won’t give away. Believe me, no matter what your background or upbringing, you’ll be affected by this book.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

3 years ago

true to form

Its sad to know that places like this exist. This is the first time i have read any of Colson's books and i must say this book is worth the read.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago

Haunting and emotional

Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for over 100 years and wrecked thousands of children, The Nickel Boys follows Elwood Curtis in the 1960s when he is young and unjustly sentenced to a juvenile center called the Nickel Academy, where adults subject children to ironboxes, lashings, and every cruel thought. Elwood believes fiercely in Martin Luther King Jr.’s words—that he is worthy and, surely, he is somebody—and his viewpoint is battered not only by plot twists but also by his cynical friend Turner. People think of “inmates” and “delinquents” as rightfully suffering en masse in society’s background, but Whitehead brings us close to Elwood and forces us to see him for what he really is: A hopeful, innocent, and vulnerable child who is every bit as deserving of love as the rest of us. Whitehead’s tight, restrained prose inversely conveys an abundance of emotion in a book that is part thriller, part remembrance, and part homage to all of America’s children who are like sweet Elwood.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com