The Nickel Boys cover

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The Nickel Boys

Colson Whitehead

Historical FictionDark & GrittySurvivalIdentity

What to Read Next

What to read after The Nickel Boys

Books matched by the same qualities that made The Nickel Boys unforgettable: dark & gritty tone, fast-paced pacing, and themes of Survival and Identity.

All Quiet on the Western Front cover
01 All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque

A young German soldier describes the First World War from the inside -- not as heroism but as systematic destruction of everything that makes a person human.

Historical FictionDark & GrittyWar
When the Emperor Was Divine cover
02 When the Emperor Was Divine Julie Otsuka

A Japanese-American family is sent to an internment camp in 1942 -- told in five spare chapters from five different perspectives.

Historical FictionEmotionalIdentity
Half of a Yellow Sun cover
03 Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Three characters navigate the Nigeria-Biafra war of the late 1960s: an Igbo professor and his twin sister, and the English man caught in their orbit as the country tears itself apart.

Historical FictionDark & GrittyWar
The Pillars of the Earth cover
04 The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett

The building of a cathedral in 12th-century England becomes the backdrop for a sweeping story of ambition, faith, and betrayal.

Historical FictionAction-PackedPower & Ambition
Bring Up the Bodies cover
05 Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel

Thomas Cromwell has made one queen -- now Henry VIII needs him to unmake her. The sequel to Wolf Hall tightens its grip with every page.

Historical FictionDark & GrittyPower & Ambition

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