Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

108 reviews

rachelsonnet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

One of the top three books of the year for me. This was a random pick from a library shelf and I tore through it in two days. I understand why it was categorized as horror but it read to me like historical fiction. Multiple times I stopped reading to look up people and events mentioned in the book. 

The writing made Robert’s and Gloria’s world so vivid. My heart was furiously racing through most of the book. I felt very connected to all the characters and I wanted them all to make it out so badly. 

This book artfully shows the horror of the Jim Crow laws, the KKK, and the over incarceration of black youth. Unchecked power corrupts absolutely and turning a blind eye to injustice perpetuates it. 

The reliance on community, hope, god, and song shone through the darkness of this novel. The effects of  the unjust deaths ripple through time. This book should be required reading. Not only is our nation’s history a disgrace, so is our present. Reformatory schools(now called wilderness therapy or boot camp) operate with little oversight and need to be abolished.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, Slavery, Rape, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery and Body horror

Minor: Antisemitism

jill_holly's review against another edition

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

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Sexual harassment

applegeorge's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Child death

booksteader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child death, Murder, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Torture, Slavery, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent

shrineofyourlies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Rape

sweetlittleredw's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I went through so many emotions while listening to this book. It broke my heart, it made me angry, it made me cry. This is a work of fiction based on the horrifying American era of Jim Crow Laws. Even though the story is fiction, the story itself is something that could have happened (and most likely has happened within America’s prison system). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Slavery, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Racism

peachani's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

This is my first Due book, and I don't think I could have chosen better. I annotated the heck out of this book; the writing was so good that there were so many sentences, paragraphs - whole pages, even - that I never want to forget. I appreciate the sensitivity with which the author handed a real and truly harrowing experience. She described the horrors in a way that was complete, but not exploitative or gratuitous. I think some of her other books are more straightforward horror (this was plenty scary, don't get me wrong) and I am a chicken, but I plan to read her entire oeuvre. I know I'll find works that will entertain and transform me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Cancer, and Torture

Minor: Dysphoria, Grief, Misogyny, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Rape, Vomit, and Gore

nineinchnails's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

5.0

i genuinely really loved this and it feels weird to say about a book that touches on such dark topics. this felt more like historical fiction than horror at some parts which may be partly responsible for me enjoying this so much. the focus on the cruelty and abuse that occurred at gracetown school for boys (a fictional school/prison modelled after real reform schools that existed at that time, like florida’s dozier school for boys) overshadowed the traditional horror elements at play here almost to the point of obscuring them. the former felt much, much scarier. 

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!

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Content Warnings

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 Segregation

krisheiney's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• 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

As much as I like the themes of this book, I felt much less drawn into it than I would have liked. The villain was too villainous, the plot dragged at times, and the social commentary fell a bit flat because of how extreme the villain was. Still, good bones, interesting ghost story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide