The Underground Railroad

Physical and psychological abuses of slavery are a central theme. There are many instances of cruelty and brutality mentioned (like being "peeled open by a whip"). A lot of sexual violence (rape, gang rape, coercion) is also mentioned but not described. Hanged bodies are described in some detail. A person who had escaped captivity but was returned is hung from a gallows by metal spikes through her ribs. A man in stocks is repeatedly whipped, castrated, and his genitals are sewn into his mouth, and he's doused in oil and burned alive. Mention that children are separated from their parents because one or the other is being sold. Blood is mentioned a few times but not described in detail. There's a shooting at point-blank range; blood and bone spattering mentioned. A massacre by guns and arson is described chaotically and without a lot of detail or gore. Some fights and scuffles with punches and kicks. A bad guy is hit in the head with a rock and dies a few days later. Robbing graves for bodies to sell to medical schools becomes an industry in Boston and mentions rival gangs in violent confrontations.

Lascivious behavior and fornication with animals mentioned in false rumor. Nudity mentioned several times but no body parts described. A difficult birth and bleeding for days afterward mentioned. Tubal ligation as birth control discussed. A kiss and a hand on the hip between two consenting older teens or young adults. A dream involves kissing, undressing, caressing, and mentions that "she was wet and he slid inside her." Clinic patients are tested for syphilis, and the progress of the untreated disease is monitored, without their knowledge or consent.

Racial epithets. The "N" word and "pickaninny" used many times. "S--t" (bodily function) a few times; "ass" (body part), "bitch," "t--ties," and "s--ts" (name-calling) once or twice each.

Frequent mention of whiskey and how people change when they drink it, becoming more talkative or more violent. A few scenes take place in saloons, and one good guy works in a saloon. Caesar has ale once, and Cora has a sip from a bottle of beer once.

Parents need to know that Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad is compelling historical fiction with a few fantasy elements that stray from fact. It doesn't shy away from the cruelty and brutality of slavery in America. Although gore and detail are rare (a man in stocks is repeatedly whipped, castrated, and burned alive; there's a shooting at point-blank range), violence including whippings, rape, and psychological torment are mentioned frequently as part of enslaved people's everyday lives. The "N" word and "pickaninny" are used frequently; other profanity is infrequent but includes a few uses of "s--t" as a bodily function. Sexual content between older teens or young adults who are equals is rare, with kissing mentioned a few times but not described. One dream includes consensual penetration. Teens mature enough to handle this dark chapter in American history will have a lot to think about -- how the pervasive institutionalization of slavery still echoes through current events and how we're still talking about many of the same issues but in slightly different forms. Main character Cora gives us reason to hope things will keep getting better. Teens can be encouraged to research the book's issues online; as an Oprah's Book Club pick, it has a large presence on social media.