Samyann
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Plot. Primarily taking place in the 60s, this is the story of a black teen arrest and subsequent sentence to a Florida detention facility for boys, The Nickel Academy, Flashbacks to modern-day New York City. Selected this book for one reason, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The story is gripping, the circumstances of arrest and sentencing have not changed as of TODAY, very timely to the current 2020 Black Lives Matter eruptions across the world. This time … will THIS TIME be different?
The story of incarceration is similar to other instances of the abuse of children in schools, juvenile detention centers all over the world, i.e., the orphanages in Ireland, or homes for unwed teen girls. Horrible mental and physical abuse and confinement in chains and shackles. They are ALL just kids. Heartbreaking.
Not recommended if you have a weak stomach for the abuse of children … highly recommended if you want to be educated in the perils of simply being born black in America.
Written by Colson Whitehead, narrated by JD Jackson and Colson Whitehead. About seven hours of listening, released in July of 2019 by Random House Audio.
