Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

148 reviews

outofthepinksky's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Slavery

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous 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: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hhelphinstine2006's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Have you ever wanted to finish a book but not want to finish a book? That is how I felt about this book. I was lucky enough to win an arc copy of this book, and it was one of the easiest 5 stars I've ever given. This book does deal with heavy subject matters, so please check trigger warnings before reading. This should honestly be turned into a movie or mini series because that is how it played out in my head as I was reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Death of parent, and Murder

swiftpool's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

I’ve never cried - no, weeped - as much reading as I did with this book. I cried so hard I thought I might puke, or never stop crying. The plot might have ghosts, but it’s not them that did the real haunting. The characters felt like something from a real book. I can’t explain how moving this book is, but I can say it’s very difficult from most historical fiction I’ve read. It has a point, not just a plot. It’s not just trauma written for the sake of it. It was written with a purpose, based on real people and places that also affected the author  and her family. I recommend reading the acknowledgments to learn more about the authors ties to the dozier school and more nonfiction information on it. It’s not an easy read but I think it’s an important read, especially for those who find nonfiction harder to read but want an insight into Americas real history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Dementia

joybeljera's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

This story kept me reading whenever I could — on the treadmill, in car rides, in bed til 1 AM and took my breath away with its depiction of the horrors of racism + juvenile incarceration alongside the unshakeable love of family/the people you’ve chosen as your family. Plus there are ghosts and gore. The characters are burned in my mind. This is a story I won’t forget. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

vegan5533's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

An incredible addition to any historical fiction collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Slavery

amberpants's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

There came a point, about a quarter of the way into this book, that I put it down and wasn't sure if I would be able to pick it back up. The moment in the story was overwhelming for me and, though I felt like I owed it to the characters to go on the journey with them, I wasn't sure that my heart could take it. The story is engaging, believable - it is based on things that have happened - and immersive, the last not exactly a positive when dealing with such tragic subject matter, though perhaps necessary. In the end, I did finish the book, completed the journey, and am glad that I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, and Sexual violence

mrscorytee's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Murder

bookended's review against another edition

dark emotional

4.5

4.5/5
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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Murder