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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this Pulitzer Prize-winning follow-up to The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 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 and “should further cement Whitehead as one of his generation's best" (Entertainment Weekly). Look for Colson Whitehead’s bestselling new novel, Harlem Shuffle!

The Nickel Boys: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys is a powerful and moving novel that tells the story of Elwood Curtis, a young black boy who is sent to a reform school in Florida in the 1960s. The school is a place of unimaginable horror, where the boys are subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Elwood and his friends try to survive the brutality of the school, but they are constantly faced with the threat of violence.

The Nickel Boys is a story about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of friendship. Elwood and his friends are able to endure the horrors of the school because they have each other. They support each other and help each other to stay strong. The novel is also a powerful indictment of the racism and injustice that is still present in our society.

The Nickel Boys is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of racism in the United States. It is a powerful and moving novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Here are some of the themes that are explored in The Nickel Boys:

• The racism and injustice that is still present in our society.
• The resilience of the human spirit.
• The power of friendship.
• The importance of education.
• The need for reform in the juvenile justice system.

The Nickel Boys is a powerful and moving novel that is sure to stay with you long after you finish reading it. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of racism in the United States.