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4.56 AVERAGE
4.56 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Reformatory is a hauntingly authentic look at a terrifying time in America’s South. Robbie, age 12, is sent to a boys' school for 6 months after kicking the local landowner’s son in the shin. Despite attempts to appeal, there is no justice for boys like Robbie in Jim Crow’s South. What horrors await Robbie at the school…
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
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:
Complicated
Phew. This book took me over a month to get through…not because it wasn’t good, but because the material is HEAVY. It’s intense. It’s heartbreaking. While The Reformatory is technically fiction, it’s plot follows chilling real-life events: the atrocities committed at the Dozier School, the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, and the so-called Indigenous “schools” in Canada. It also draws from author Tananarive Due’s own family history, including the incarceration and brutal stabbing of her late uncle. 💔
This novel offers an unflinching, powerful portrayal of the dehumanizing reality of juvenile incarceration. I’ve had this Aardvark book for a while, but reading it now…while our current administration continues to unlawfully and inhumanely detain hundreds of people in appalling conditions…made it hit even harder. The parallels are gut-wrenching. 🤢
It’s not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. It gave me a new perspective on life in the Jim Crow South of the 1950s, where survival itself required unimaginable strength. The characters are unforgettable, their resilience both inspiring and devastating. I felt Gloria’s fear through every page.
While the books genre is listed as “horror,” the most horrifying thing isn’t the supernatural. It’s the very real, systemic racism that defined the era and STILL!!!!! poisons our society today. How the fuck are we still here?
I try not to get overly political in my reviews, but I’ll make an exception here: every trumper needs to read this. Then tell me - honestly - that what’ is happening at “@lligator @lcatraz” is anything less than barbaric.
This novel offers an unflinching, powerful portrayal of the dehumanizing reality of juvenile incarceration. I’ve had this Aardvark book for a while, but reading it now…while our current administration continues to unlawfully and inhumanely detain hundreds of people in appalling conditions…made it hit even harder. The parallels are gut-wrenching. 🤢
It’s not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. It gave me a new perspective on life in the Jim Crow South of the 1950s, where survival itself required unimaginable strength. The characters are unforgettable, their resilience both inspiring and devastating. I felt Gloria’s fear through every page.
While the books genre is listed as “horror,” the most horrifying thing isn’t the supernatural. It’s the very real, systemic racism that defined the era and STILL!!!!! poisons our society today. How the fuck are we still here?
I try not to get overly political in my reviews, but I’ll make an exception here: every trumper needs to read this. Then tell me - honestly - that what’ is happening at “@lligator @lcatraz” is anything less than barbaric.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Police brutality, Death of parent
5 POWERFULLY HAUNTING STARS
Yeah, there's a supernatural element, but the real horror is the history -and that's what makes it hit so hard.
Robbie's time in the school is disturbing and terrifying. His sister Gloria's determination adds so much heart to the story. Through all the darkness, there's still this thread of hope.
This story has so many elements to it, and all are woven together in such a beautiful way.
The Reformatory is unforgettable not just because it's a great story, but because it's a
story that matters.
Yeah, there's a supernatural element, but the real horror is the history -and that's what makes it hit so hard.
Robbie's time in the school is disturbing and terrifying. His sister Gloria's determination adds so much heart to the story. Through all the darkness, there's still this thread of hope.
This story has so many elements to it, and all are woven together in such a beautiful way.
The Reformatory is unforgettable not just because it's a great story, but because it's a
story that matters.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Incredibly evocative writing. Definitely a book you have to stop and take a breath from. Growing up in Florida, this is an important book to read. Especially appreciated reading Due's personal connection to the story and was so immensely pleased with the execution and conclusion of such a difficult premise to write. Due turned the classic ghost story on its head - the monsters in the book were humans. Definitely a book that will keep me up at night! Based on Due's acknowledgements I have also begun reading We Carry Their Bones by Erin Kimmerle - the forensic anthropologist who investigated the Dozier school - and highly reccomend that as a companion book to this one.