The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Wednesday, May 20, San Antonio

I seldom read multiple novels by the same writers.  That's partially due to writers often repeating a style.  (After being excited by Hawaii, I burned out very quickly on books by James Michener!)  But The Nickel Boys is the second novel I have read by Colson Whitehead within a month.  That's because they have both been so well reviewed by major publications.  Plus, they both have won Pulitzer Prizes for literature (which doesn't always mean much, but in this case does in my opinion).  This novel is a riveting story that made me want to keep reading every time I picked it up to continue the story which is about a juvenile detention facility for boys (fictional story, but based on the stories of a real facility that existed in Florida) which mistreated the boys (the blacks far more than the whites), regularly hid the punishments administered and deaths that occurred there, had corrupted administrators who lined their pockets with money the boys earned and from selling much of the food to local businesses that was supposed to be served to the black boys, etc.  It's a sad story that rings so true about corruption when it comes to justice related to black citizens in America.  It is one of the best books I have ever read.  I gave it 5 stars out of 5.