Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

229 reviews

twopurplebookends's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, and Rape

shaanananaaa's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Rape

veronica214's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Well researched historical horror novel. A lot of characters, but they are all so unique it's easy to keep track. Tananarive Due does a great job making the story atmospheric while building a sense of foreboding. 

This is based on the Dozier School for Boys located in Mariana, FL, which ran from 1900-2011. Many boys died there from abusive disciplinary actions that went too far. One survivor reports to have had 135 lashes. After two years of forensic investigations of the burials on the shuttered property, the surviving victims of the school were given a total of $20 million dollars through a bill passed by a former FL governor. 

This is a tough read, but Due makes sure to remind us that these boys were children, and they did have a playful innocent side which surely surfaced from time to time at the reformatory. It provides some comic relief in the moment, but ultimately your heart aches remembering that these atrocities were happening to children.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying and Racial slurs

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

trinityamyah's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book easily remains in my top 3 of the year, no matter what I read next. Although the story gets really dark and can be triggering, there’s such warmth in Due’s storytelling and the characters we meet; she managed to strike a pretty incredible balance between warm and chilling. I was genuinely creeped out at times. The plot is excellent, and the character development is outstanding.

I cried, smiled, and laughed so much while reading this book. When I finished it, I felt so grateful that this author completed this project and shared it with us. You can tell so much work and thought went into this book (the author worked on it for 10 years), so much reverie for anyone who came before whose stories resonated with these characters’. I personally was really inspired by it.

I read The Between by Due prior to reading this, and although it was slow for most of the book, I really appreciated her writing and world crafting by the end of it. So I read this. And thank goodness I did. This book put Due on my Favorite Author list, and I already have two more of her works in my cart ready for checkout! I highly recommend. Give it a read and see what you think!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Child death

pkatrinaanne's review against another edition

I may go back. It’s not what I expected, and it’s tough enough material that I definitely need to be in the mood to tackle the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Death of parent

elysianbud's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

One of the best books I have ever read. 

Tananarive Due writes about some of the worst human behaviour imaginable, but also some of the most beautiful depictions of bravery and friendship: a wedding photo saved, a drawing of friend, a helping hand. Both extremes will make you sob throughout this book. Chapters 32 and 33 in particular almost had me screaming in anguish--I probably would have, if not for the neighbours. 

This is a longer book than I typically read but it does not drag for a single moment. This is one of the tightest narratives I've ever read; there's not a word wasted, it's paced perfectly from beginning to end. 

I picked this up for the ghosts, so when I realised there was more then just Robert's perspective, I wondered if I would lose interest, as is often the fear with multiple perspective stories. However, Due manages to make both Robert and Grace's narrative tense and terrifying in their own ways, with or without the haints. In fact, the haints aren't even the scary part of this story. The living are the ones to fear, and Due made me shiver with fear and my heart ache in pain with their disgusting behaviour. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer and Classism

narbine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Loved this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is the most emotionally invested I've been in a book in a long while. I found myself angry, wishing I could reach through the pages to intervene on Robbie's behalf. The last third or so had me feeling so tense, I could barely sit still while reading. A fantastically written novel with an important message woven throughout an extremely compelling plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jill_holly's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow, what an incredible book. I didn't have many expectations going in, but if I had, they were exceeded. I read the last 25% in one sitting, leaning forward in my chair with my heart pounding. This book was deeply emotional, intense, and thought-provoking. I won't be forgetting it anytime soon. Not just reflective of schools like this that existed in the American south; it had reverberations of Canadian residential schools too. Chilling, mesmerizing and important. One of my favourite books of the year! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Sexual harassment