The Nickel Boys

Powell's Picks of the Month

Hand-selected books for your reading list.

I was completely floored by this deeply moving book. I cannot imagine that I will read a finer novel this year. Recommended By Keith M., Powells.com

This sharply written, gut-punch of a novel is the epitome of the saying that fiction is a lie that tells the truth. Whitehead unflinchingly portrays the horrors of Jim Crow-era Florida, an uncomfortable period of American history that many would rather forget. Whitehead shows us that unearthing the truth of injustices buried in the past is a powerful and necessary act. A brilliant book written by a master of the literary arts, Nickel Boys is a must-read. Recommended By Mary S., Powells.com

Colson Whitehead continues to be unafraid to expose the horror of the black experience in America, and to that I say, Amen, Mr. Whitehead. This is the story of a boys' reform school in the South, and the history of torture the boys endured there. Although this is fiction, the school this book is based on did indeed exist and operated as the novel depicts. The story of Elwood Curtis is a study in race relations and utter cruelty, and the hopelessness of those children who were held for years is so heartbreaking it makes for a difficult read. Yet, Whitehead is an impressive storyteller, and he uses that hook to lead you through this nightmare, complete with a harrowing and, ultimately, shocking ending. Gorgeously done, the hellish story of the forgotten Nickel boys is revelatory and agonizing. Stories show us ourselves and our world, and this is one you should not miss: they lived through it, we must read it. I foresee another Pulitzer nomination on the horizon. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com

In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.

As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to heart: He is "as good as anyone." Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides "physical, intellectual and moral training" so the delinquent boys in their charge can become "honorable and honest men."

In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear "out back." Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold onto Dr. King's ringing assertion "Throw us in jail and we will still love you." His friend Turner thinks Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble.

The tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys' fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy.

Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven 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.

"Whitehead's magnetic characters exemplify stoicism and courage, and each supremely crafted scene smolders and flares with injustice and resistance, building to a staggering revelation." Booklist Online

"A gripping and brilliant novel based on a true story about a boys' reformatory school in Florida in the 1960s. Whitehead is one of the most daring and gifted authors writing these days, and I will never miss one of his books." Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls

"Whitehead's brilliant examination of America's history of violence is a stunning novel of impeccable language and startling insight."  Publishers Weekly

Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad, which in 2016 won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the National Book Award and was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, as well as The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt, and The Colossus of New York. He is also a Pulitzer Prize finalist and a recipient of the MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships. He lives in New York City.

A new book from MacArthur Genius and award-winning author Colson Whitehead guarantees three things: a beautiful, snappy, and surprising prose style; a full-hearted commitment to the author’s subject, whether that be poker, the Deep South, or teen angst; and a reading experience cocooned in Whitehead’s seemingly limitless imagination...

Read More»