Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Reformatory

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Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

63 reviews

twobooksonenerd's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

As a mother of a teenage boy, this wasn’t an easy read. I feel like all parents should read this. While based almost 100 years ago, I don’t see very much different in how minorities/poc are treated. Painfully scary without all the Hollywood glitter.

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alyssatuininga's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

4.0

This book is a rough read- racism, child sexual abuse, torture death, and extreme graphic descriptions of child physical abuse. I struggled getting through this book because every time I picked it up this dread washed over me and I had a pit in my stomach. It is eloquently written- raw and heartbreaking. The characters feel realistic, deep, and honest. I learned a great deal about justice and the NAACP in Florida in the 1950s. In the long run, I am glad that I read it but it was a rough ride.

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jaedia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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veronica214's review against another edition

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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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pkatrinaanne's review against another edition

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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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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was long but so so so worth every minute spent on it. Every word was purposeful. Every character well developed. Every scene useful. In this sense, it reminded me of the economical beauty that was the movie Monster. Execution was flawless for that movie, as was this book. Possibly the only thing that would’ve either made it even better or maybe might’ve moved it from perfect to over the top would’ve been if Thurgood Marshall or Zora Neale Hurston made an actual appearance in the story.

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elysianbud's review

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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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