The Stacks Book Club selection for October is The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is set during the Jim Crow era and follows Elwood Curtis, a young Black boy whose life is derailed when he's sent to the Nickel Academy, a brutal reform school. Inspired by the real-life horrors of the Dozier School for Boys, the novel delves into themes of injustice, resilience, and morality as Elwood struggles to maintain his ideals in the face of corruption and violence. Whitehead’s powerful storytelling sheds light on a dark chapter of American history, making The Nickel Boys a haunting and unforgettable read.
If you want to read with us this month, here are some key dates to The Stacks Book Club read of The Nickel Boys.
October 2nd — The Stacks Episode announcing our guest for the The Nickel Boys episode.
October 25th — The film adaptation of The Nickel Boys is released in theaters.
October 30th — The Stacks Book Club Episode of The Nickel Boys.
Early November — The Stacks Virtual Book Club meetup to discuss the book. To participate you will need to join The Stacks Pack on Patreon. There, you’ll have inside access to the show, access to the Discord community, and more.
LA’s Black-owned indie bookstore Reparations Club offers you 10% off your copy of The Nickel Boys using the code STACKS10 at checkout!
You can support The Stacks by purchasing this month's pick through my Bookshop.org or Amazon page as well.
I loved this book. Interested in seeing the movie.
Great choice: here’s my review from a while back:
https://inallthings.org/only-a-stubborn-past-can-survive-a-review-of-the-nickel-boys/