The Nickel Boys

Colson Whitehead's story of Elwood Curtis' experience at a boys reform school in the 1960s is both impactful and heartbreaking. In The Nickel Boys Whitehead explores themes of injustice and prejudices during the period of the Civil Rights Movement. There are many references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr, which inspire the main character's perspective and behavior. The events in the book are shocking, but not surprising to anyone with knowledge of the horrors of that time period in history.

The story follows Elwood Curtis, a black teenager with hopes of attending college and taking part in the Movement. He is greatly impacted by the words of Martin Luther King, Jr, specifically his encouragement to the black community to have a “sense of dignity and...somebody-ness.” This leads Elwood to seek to do the right thing always, even when it may be foolish and put in him in harms way. When he gets an opportunity to attend college classes while still in high school, he is excited and optimistic about his future. However, on his way to his first class, he is arrested for a crime he does not commit and sent to the Nickel Academy, a reform school for troubled boys. At this academy, he experiences abuse and degradation that challenge his ability to maintain his “sense of dignity” that he so values.

The setting of this book, the Nickel Academy, is very grim. The supervisors and “housemen” are mostly hard, abusive men who seek to degrade and demoralize the boys in the school. While the outside of the school appears well-maintained and pleasant, it hides some dark and sinister rooms where boys are abused, both physically and mentally. Elwood seeks to reveal these secrets to the outside world.

Elwood is an idealistic character who believes that he can maintain his sense of self and impact the world if he just does the right thing in every situation. The Nickel Academy will test his idealism. He meets and befriends Turner who is much more realistic about the world and seeks to “get along” and survive. Turner helps Elwood survive the school as much as he can, but Elwood's ideals put him at odds with the school's leaders in several situations. Their friendship is one of the shining elements of this story.

The story line jumps from past to present a few times in the books. We see Elwood and Turner in the 1960s, but we also witness some of the outcomes for characters later in their lives. There is a twist toward the end that is surprising for the reader. Even though there are a few hints at this twist along the way, it took me by surprise. It added an interesting element to the plot.

Overall, this is an emotional read that brings important themes to light. These themes of injustice and prejudice are not new, this book presents them in different perspective and setting than usual. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from this book. I highly recommend it to all readers.