Reviews - The Reformatory | The StoryGraph

6.56k reviews for:

The Reformatory

Tananarive Due

4.56 AVERAGE

shimmermeika's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

kellijones's review against another edition

3.25

dark sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

While I am very interested in stories about race relations, this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. The supernatural theme did not help me suspend my disbelief enough to immerse myself in this story. The characters went through awful and inhumane things, and the antagonist was absolutely vile. I'm grateful that the details of abuse were not graphically described. The book is a good reminder that stories like this did happen (and do), that overt racism was still commonplace in the times of television, and Jackie Robinson, and Nat King Cole, fresh off the heels of WW2. The message is important, but the execution fell short for me. Also, the ending was left wide open in regards to a major part of the story, which is very disappointing in a plot-driven book.

Content Warnings

jennandtoniclife's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bb31400's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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: No

_litwitch_'s review against another edition

2.25

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

redgoddessreads's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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: Yes

I didn’t know until I was halfway through with this book that it was based on a true story and a real place that the tension and to the characters exponentially. While the subject matter is so difficult I think this is such an important chapter in our history that needs be brought out into the light. This book will
haunt me for many years to come.