Historical Fiction: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Readers have eagerly awaited Colson Whitehead's follow-up to the award-winning 2016 bestseller, The Underground Railroad, and their patience was rewarded with The Nickel Boys. Set in the Jim Crow-era south, it tells of the nightmarish conditions behind the walls of a reform school for boys.

The Situation: Elwood Curtis lives in segregated Tallahassee in the early 1960s. Raised by his grandmother, Elwood has discovered a fierce fondness for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When he receives a record of Dr. King's speeches as a gift, Elwood cannot get enough of hearing it, and resolves to adopt the reverend's attitude towards the Civil Rights Movement. Of course, protesting injustice and maintaining a strong sense of right and wrong can come at a price, one that Elwood occasionally ends up paying. Even so, he seems to be headed in the right direction as he is a strong student, and is able to hold down a part-time job while keeping up with his schoolwork. But just as he begins to advance beyond his little neighborhood, one simple mistake changes his entire course, and he finds himself to be the newest student at the Nickel Academy, a reform school for boys.

The Problem: The Nickel Academy promises to provide an education that includes moral training, all in an effort to transform these troubled boys into decent citizens. However, what the sadistic staff at the Nickel Academy actually provide is abuse, both physical and sexual, on a level of cruelty that it causes many of the boys to disappear, for various reasons. When Elwood discovers the true Nickel, he does his best to hold onto the words of Dr. King, retaining an attitude that another Nickel inmate, Turner, thinks is naive, even foolish. Turner would rather keep his down, and work the system in his own favor. Despite their differences, the two boys become friends, managing to stay out of trouble, until one decision, stemming from his desire for justice, once again changes the course of Elwood's life.    

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set mostly in early 1960s Florida, which is where Elwood grew up, and where the Nickel Academy runs as a reform school for delinquent boys. There are parts of the book that show Elwood's life at different points in the future, after Nickel, showing what has become of him after the abuse he endured as a teen. The Nickel Academy itself is based off of a real place, the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, which operated for 111 years. If the physical and sexual abuse were not enough, school staff and officials also sold off supplies and food that were meant for the boys in a scheme to earn extra money. The school also was segregated, and the white boys received better supplies, and less abuses, than their black counterparts. Of course, that does not mean that they did not also suffer at the hands of the staff and administration, many of which would not be brought to justice due to the school's long years of operation.

My Verdict: I expected to have a much more difficult time reading this book than I did. Yes, the boys suffer terrible abuses and atrocities. And yes, there were many moments when the boys would be up to something, and it was plenty obvious that they, mostly Elwood, would suffer severe consequences for it. Scenes and events like that would cause me to wince and brace for pages at a time, while waiting for the hammer to drop. But instead of writing a book that simply contains unmitigated abuse and hardship, Whitehead manages to balance out the horror, while still keeping it front and present. The book is certainly about the terrible things that took place at Nickel, but also about the struggle between wanting to fight for justice, and also wanting to stay out of trouble and hope to make your own way in the midst of the chaos. Elwood and Turner beautifully represent the two sides, respectively, while also showcasing that the decision is not as cut and dry as we would often like to believe.

Favorite Moment: When Jaimie, a Hispanic boy at Nickel, manages to exact some revenge on a staff member who was cruel to him.

Favorite Character: Turner is trouble from the beginning, but he ultimately knows what he is doing, and only tells his friends to do what he thinks will keep them alive.

Recommended Reading: Whitehead's The Underground Railroad won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and for good reason. I highly recommend it.