2.5 Stars
What I picture the reaction of the masses will be when they see this rating . . . . .
In case you aren’t familiar, very briefly The Nickel Boys is “the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.” It is based on a place that actually existed and tells of the “teaching” that went on there. The school was segregated, so the two boys who are the focus of this story are black. Everyone and their dog has been reading this. Even Barry . . . .
And then here comes me . . . . .
I’m not going to get super detailed and pick apart this book because Iread it wrong didn’t hate it. At all. It just didn’t really make me feel all the things it was supposed to make me feel. And the ending?????
Again . . . .
I get that the ending was supposed to make me believe in hope and YES WE CAN and feel all the feels. But I have always been pretty clear that I don’t like to be emotionally manipulated – especially when 99.9999% of the story was supposed to be based on facts. You can’t throw in the unfathomable and expect me to swallow it down.
Maybe this would have worked better for me if it had been completely non-fiction rather than historical fiction based on reality. I’m almost certain the novella length did me no favors. Or heck, maybe Colson Whitehead is just not the author for me. He blew me away with The Underground Railroad, but also wrote the most boring zombie book in the history of the universe and now I feel mediocre about this one. I’ll still most likely pick up his next release since the library is only a couple of blocks away, but I’ll lower my expectations from this point forward.
That being said, I agree this is an important story to tell. I would highly encourage high school teachers to recommend it to their students. While the plot may be dark, details have been spared so I believe older teens would be/should be a target demographic for this one. After all, they are the ones who can change the world and they need to remember to . . . .
Make a career of humanity. Make it a central part of your life.
If you are looking for another book (I don’t feel comfortable calling it “true” since it appears the author may have pulled a James Frey regarding his “nonfictional” life story) of the atrocities that happen to boys in a juvie home that then follow them throughout their lives, I can’t recommend Sleepers enough – either the book or the film.
In case you aren’t familiar, very briefly The Nickel Boys is “the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.” It is based on a place that actually existed and tells of the “teaching” that went on there. The school was segregated, so the two boys who are the focus of this story are black. Everyone and their dog has been reading this. Even Barry . . . .
And then here comes me . . . . .
I’m not going to get super detailed and pick apart this book because I
Again . . . .
I get that the ending was supposed to make me believe in hope and YES WE CAN and feel all the feels. But I have always been pretty clear that I don’t like to be emotionally manipulated – especially when 99.9999% of the story was supposed to be based on facts. You can’t throw in the unfathomable and expect me to swallow it down.
Maybe this would have worked better for me if it had been completely non-fiction rather than historical fiction based on reality. I’m almost certain the novella length did me no favors. Or heck, maybe Colson Whitehead is just not the author for me. He blew me away with The Underground Railroad, but also wrote the most boring zombie book in the history of the universe and now I feel mediocre about this one. I’ll still most likely pick up his next release since the library is only a couple of blocks away, but I’ll lower my expectations from this point forward.
That being said, I agree this is an important story to tell. I would highly encourage high school teachers to recommend it to their students. While the plot may be dark, details have been spared so I believe older teens would be/should be a target demographic for this one. After all, they are the ones who can change the world and they need to remember to . . . .
Make a career of humanity. Make it a central part of your life.
If you are looking for another book (I don’t feel comfortable calling it “true” since it appears the author may have pulled a James Frey regarding his “nonfictional” life story) of the atrocities that happen to boys in a juvie home that then follow them throughout their lives, I can’t recommend Sleepers enough – either the book or the film.
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