Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

101 reviews

seasonedreadings's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse

Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

ashsparrow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol

leahegood's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Summary
Elwood is a thoughtful, bookish boy growing up in the years following WWII. He was meant to go to college, until a cruel stroke of bad luck lands him in Nickel ... a place that threatens to strip him of every bit of stubborn idealism.

My Thoughts
Before reading this book, I'd read articles about the real-life reform "school" Nickel is based on. From those articles, I was braced for this to be a gruesome story that I was prepared to stop reading if it got to be too much. Instead, Whitehead weaves a story that mimics the tone of its main character. Atrocities are not glossed over, but neither are the terrible details dwelt on. Instead, injustice is highlighted in the quiet endurance of one young man. Whitehead paints a story in which his character presses forward in humble dignity and a sense of integrity that refuses to bend any further than survival demands.

Content
Sexual Content: R*pe and SA is implied throughout, a character considers fighting back if someone touches him inappropriately again, and r*pe is mentioned outright once.

Language: Words like sh*t, d*mn, and f*ck throughout.

Violence: The violence in this book is underscores, imo, by how quietly it is presented. Main and minor characters experience brutal beatings, sometimes resulting in death, but these incidents are never described in detail or presented gratuitously.

Religion: Elwood mentions attending church with his grandmother at the beginning of the book. MKL is quoted repeatedly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

alacarte's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Bullying

marisample's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

pilicreads's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I found it difficult to WANT to pick up the book and keep reading, mostly in the first half. After the first half, however, things really begin to spiral, and the initial emotion and love you hold for these characters propels you in a panic to keep reading — the panicked hope that they are okay pushes you forward.

Beautiful, haunting, difficult, wrenching, and extremely powerful. To quote The Washington Post, this book “shreds our easy confidence in the triumph of goodness”. I think everyone needs to read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

kyleighwhitsell's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death

mle11's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Dementia

jayisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

Based on the real story of the Dozier School for Boys in Florida during the Jim Crow era, The Nickel Boys was heartbreaking to read, considering the horrors that Black boys faced. Something I really appreciate about Whitehead’s writings is how he shows the lasting reverberations of anti-Blackness in the United States by focusing closely on a specific aspect of the country’s history. Despite the horrors that exist in these pages (and in United States history), I was surprised by the amount of love and resilience that came through. It really made the ending all the more gut-wrenching, especially as you grow a particular fondness for Elwood.

Not that there’s ever a really good headspace to be in when reading such a devastating novel, but I think I could have appreciated this novel more if I had less on my plate while reading it. I felt that I read this in a rush and didn’t get the chance to fully appreciate Whitehead’s efforts. Considering this, I really would like to revisit this novel when I can really put more care into what’s happening.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Medical content

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol