This is a powerful, beautifully written novel that will stay with me forever. It starts during the Jim Crow era in Florida, and in the beginning, the main protagonist is Elwood Curtis, a gentle, bright young man with a bright future-- that is, until he is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reform school. This school turns out to be a violent place where the boys are trapped and enslaved until they age out, if they live that long.

The school in this novel is based on the real life Dozier School, which operated for over a century. This novel puts faces on some of the most vulnerable victims. In this novel, Elwood is befriended by Jack Turner, who has a different kind of intelligence and is a survivor. Their friendship becomes not only special, but of the utmost importance. Together, they can stay alive.

I would recommend this to absolutely anyone. It's a masterpiece.