This was my first Colson Whitehead novel and it was quite the adventure. His characters were memorable and the plot heartbreaking. I gave this book a 4 of 5 and recommend it for your reading list. It is an excellent foray into the injustice of racism and an example of how important it is to demand change. We still have a long way to go.
**Spoilers Below**
The Nickel Boys discusses the racist and other atrocities of the Arthur C. Dozier School for Boys. As a Florida Reform School they were in charge of “rehabilitating” arrested or unwanted teens of the system. Even though attendees had filed years of complaints about their treatment by the staff in the form of beatings, rapes, and deaths, no one paid much attention until bodies were discovered years after it’s shutdown. In 2012, the University of South Florida anthropologists discovered dead bodies on the run down campus and suddenly the years of complaints were real.
Set in the 1960s, we follow Elwood Curtis through his younger years. He has high aspirations to be great and works hard to make into college as he is raised by his grandmother. They both participate in MLK events and speeches as they are both passionate about the civil rights movement. On his first day of college, he hitchhikes and they get pulled over. The driver had stolen the car, and he was sent to the reform school.
While there, he becomes friends with a certain Turner, who opens Elwood’s eyes to the insanity of his plan to outlast the school and bide his time until he can get out. There are beatings for all sorts of things and bullies are given free reign to terrorize the smaller population. Elwood’s first beating was for standing up tp one of those bullies. It is Turner who makes him realize they are going to die there. Elwood and Turner make a plan to escape and make decent progress until they are discovered and Elwood is shot dead. Turner escapes and pledges to live for Elwood the best he can.
A disturbing but necessary review of the school and it’s affects on the surviving population. They had to learn to live with all those physical and emotional scars and they are never the same.