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nineinchnails's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
i don’t usually mention these, but i really recommend reading the dedication, author’s note, and acknowledgments, as they gave context that made the novel feel even more meaningful. this book gave me similar feelings to “mornings in jenin” by susan abulhawa. this was over 500 pages so it was a long read (from what i remember about horrors) but it was because it was so bleak and heavy rather than it feeling like a slog. not a sentence of this felt wasted and i highly recommend giving this a read, even if it’s not a novel you would typically gravitate towards. everyone has something to learn from this book!
Graphic: Sexism, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, Child abuse, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism
Minor: Pedophilia, Slavery, War, and Sexual violence
Apartheid, Jim crow, and Segregationkrisheiney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide
bkwrm1317's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Based on a real place, where real young men lost their lives, The Reformatory follows young Robert Stevens, Jr, his sister Gloria, and others who love them in the Jim Crow south after the death of their mother (lost to cancer), and their father’s need to leave after his attempt to unionize workers strikes fear into the pocketbooks of white folks in their community.
Young Robert defends his sister from the untoward advances of a young white man from a former plantation owning family with a swift kick to the knee, but McCormack senior sees the exchange and convinces a judge to send young Robert to the Reformatory, a place reeking of violence and bloodshed, the mysterious deaths of young men behind its barbed wire fences, and more.
What unveils is a story of friendship created under duress, the ghosts haunting the Reformatory impatiently waiting to exact their revenge on the man representing the system of inequity that led to their untimely deaths, and the horrors hiding under the surface in the Funhouse, the shed, and elsewhere at the Reformatory.
Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Cancer, Slavery, and Sexual violence
catalienubbins's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
qqjj's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Body horror, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Rape, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Sexual assault, Classism, Gore, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Gun violence, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
joybeljera's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, and Racism
vegan5533's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Torture, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Child death, and Gaslighting
amberpants's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Racism, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Rape, Child death, Abandonment, and Pedophilia
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Animal death, and Sexual violence
bookended's review against another edition
4.5
Thank you to Saga Press, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the free e-copy of this book!
Please be warned the triggers in this read include: racial slurs, abuse, extreme violence , racism..
The storytelling in this read was beyond words and left me speechless from start to end. The Reformatory takes place in 1950's Gracetown, Florida, following both Gloria and Robert (Robbie) Stephens, when Robert found himself being sent to a Boy's School (which is led by THE MOST disgusting man) after an incident with his neighbor.
This was a horrific, heart-dropping, stomach-turning read, that was written so well. And knowing that this read was inspired by true events from Tananarive Due's family history made it that much more memorable. Historical Fiction at its finest.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
shamelessbibliophile41's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Child death, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia