WellRead’s September 2019 selection was The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. The devastating but absolutely essential story of a brutal Florida reformatory school for boys set during the Jim Crow years. Although this book is short, it is filled with some damn good plot twists. Keep those tissues handy.
Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story.
Reading questions for The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
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Elwood and Turner are philosophical opposites: Elwood believes in the courage to stand up for yourself and fight for what is right, whereas Turner is more cynical and understands the benefits of keeping to yourself. How do you respond to injustice and what do you think makes you that way? Are you an Elwood or a Turner?
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Let’s talk about the plot twists. Did you see them coming?
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Did you ugly cry like us at any stage of the novel?
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Do you think the sparse and measured style was effective in communicating the injustice and brutality of the Nickel Academy or did you want more details? Why do you think Whitehead chose to write the book this way?
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A review in TIME Magazine declared that by mining the past “Colson Whitehead takes readers into an uneasy present.” How did the book make you think or feel about contemporary America?
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“They had been denied even the simple pleasure of being ordinary. Hobbled and handicapped before the race even began, never figuring out how to be normal.” How does Elwood in the present day part of the novel manage his trauma? Is hope and normality available to him at this stage of his life?
- What was your takeaway from the book? Without sounding too much like Year 12 English, what do you think was at the crux of what Whitehead was trying to say?
Please note, these questions were written and distributed in September, 2019.