I had been looking forward to reading The Nickle Boys from Colson Whitehead from the time it was announced by Doubleday. It brought with it a mix of dread and curiosity, of shame and duty to read. It is loosely based upon the horrors that occurred at the Dozier School for Boys. The sad thing is that we will NEVER know the depth of horrors that went on there. This book is equal shares grim and hopeful—grim in the horrors of times past as well as the present and hopeful in that in knowing, we can banish our own demons and, hopefully, regain our humanity. It is a brilliant and essential read. 

Photo: ©Michael Spooney Barger, Reuters, Corbis

Here is a link to a story at the Smithsonian Magazine, “Archaeologists Finally Know What Happened at This Brutal Reform School.” You might want to take a look after reading the book. 

** UPDATE**

Winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.