The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Robbed of a promising future by a false conviction, Ellwood’s hope—nurtured by the words of Dr. King—clashes with Turner’s cynicism as they seek survival, escape and justice at Nickel Academy reform school. Inspired by brutal revelations of racism and abuse suffered at the Dozier School for Boys in Jim Crow-era Florida, *unearths disturbing truths about entrenched, systemic oppression. His stunning and economic prose makes this harrowing novel a modern masterpiece.
- Last updated: September 8, 2023
on the web
Looking for reviews, author bios, and discussion questions to stimulate conversation? We’ve compiled these for you!
Available at West Vancouver Memorial Library in Book, Large Print Book, eBook, Kindle, Audiobook CD, and eAudiobook formats.
"Colson Whitehead was born in 1969, and was raised in Manhattan."
USA Today. "Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys earned him multiple prestigious accolades, but it didn't come without a price."
Vox. "Colson Whitehead just became the fourth writer ever to win two Pulitzers for fiction."
"Nickel Boys (Whitehead) - Discussion Questions"
"For The 'Nickel Boys,' Life Isn't Worth 5 Cents"
"The Nickel Boys Reader’s Guide"
"The Underground Railroad author’s powerful new novel evokes the dark realities of a Florida reform school in the 60s"
"In 'The Nickel Boys,' Colson Whitehead Depicts a Real-Live House of Horrors"
Vanity Fair. "The Pulitzer Prize–winning author's new novel, inspired by the atrocities committed at Florida's Dozier School for Boys, lays bare America’s history of state-sanctioned violence."
"Whitehead’s follow-up to his Pulitzer-winning Underground Railroad exhumes the unmarked graves of a hellish Florida reform school."