Read this when
The Nickel Boys
They buried the evidence. They couldn't bury the boys. Elwood and Turner, and the argument between hope and cynicism that you might be having with yourself.
Who it's for
Elwood Curtis, an idealistic Black teenager who lives by Martin Luther King's words, is wrongly sent to Nickel Academy, a Florida reform school modelled on the real Dozier School for Boys.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Colson Whitehead's 2019 novel follows Elwood Curtis, an idealistic Black teenager in 1960s Tallahassee inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., who is wrongly sent to Nickel Academy after a traffic stop involving a stolen car. At the reform school, boys endure hard labour, corporal punishment and abuse, and Elwood befriends Turner, a more cynical fellow student.
Where to find it
In print (Doubleday/Anchor); widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. Film adaptation (2024) also exists.
Before you start
Heads up: Abuse and killing of boys at a school.
Age: Ages 16+
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, “On Pain”
