This follow-up to The Underground Railroad 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.

I first learned of Florida’s Dozier School for Boys a few years ago and was horrified when I learned what had occurred there and how it went on for over 100 years without anyone doing anything about it. I then read Tananrive Due’s “The Reformatory,” which is set at a fictional reform school inspired by The Dozier School, and I absolutely loved it. While I found “The Nickel Boys” to be impactful, I think I wasn’t as affected by it as I would have had I known nothing about The Dozier School and had I not first read “The Reformatory.” That said, I still found this to be a profoundly affecting work of historical fiction.

The story follows Elwood Curtis, an idealistic Black teenager growing up in segregated Tallahassee in the 1960s. Elwood is a bright, hard-working young man inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He has big dreams of attending college and making a life for himself, however, his life takes a devastating turn when he accepts a ride from a stranger who stole a car, resulting in Elwood being falsely accused of being an accomplice. This stroke of “wrong place, wrong time” lands him at the Nickel Academy, a juvenile reformatory. Just like The Dozier School, Nickel is a place where cruelty reigns, discipline is administered with savage violence, and the lives of the boys – especially Black boys – are deemed expendable.

Elwood’s unlikely friendship with Turner, a more cynical and pragmatic fellow inmate, becomes central to the story. This is not Turner’s first time here, and his worldview is shaped by a deep understanding of the corrupt and crooked systems they’re up against, making him a foil to Elwood’s stubborn idealism. Their relationship provides moments of tension, camaraderie, and heartbreak, culminating in a devastating twist at the end that redefines the story.

The book isn’t that long, which makes it move quickly. Whitehead doesn’t overindulge in graphic depictions of abuse, yet the horrors of Nickel are unmistakable and haunting. This understated approach is perfect for those who don’t need or want details, but for others – especially those like myself who are already familiar with the real-life history of the Dozier School – it can feel like the narrative was missing something. I also felt like I wanted more development around the friendship between Elwood and Turner. I understood they were friends, but I didn’t feel the closeness as deeply as I wanted. Their relationship forms the story’s emotional core, and while their bond was compelling, it could have been fleshed out even more.

As I stated earlier, Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory resonated more deeply with me. Due’s novel delves further into the emotional and psychological toll of such environments, creating a visceral sense of dread and urgency. The friendships and camaraderie forged between the characters in her book also felt deeper and resulted in a more emotional outcome for me.

That said, this isn’t a bad book. The novel’s structure, which moves between past and present, adds layers to the story’s revelations and builds toward an unexpected and heartbreaking twist. The twist recontextualizes much of what came before, forcing readers to grapple with the lingering trauma of Nickel and the ways survivors do their best to move forward.

Ultimately, this is a story about the loss of innocence, the enduring effects of systemic oppression, and the tension between hope and despair. It doesn’t offer easy resolutions, which makes it all the more impactful. While I wished for a deeper dive into some aspects of the story, I appreciated Whitehead’s ability to capture the essence of this dark chapter in history without resorting to sensationalism.

For readers who are unfamiliar with the real-life events that inspired the novel, this is a profoundly eye-opening and essential read. It may not have struck me as deeply as “The Reformatory,” but in the end, it is an important and necessary book.

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