A review by zbayardo
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

A story set in Jim Crow Florida, where 12yr old Robbie Stephens Jr. is sent to the Gracetown School for Boys for defending his sister. As Robbie navigates the horrors of racism and injustice, including the chilling realities of The Reformatory, his ability to see ghosts adds a haunting layer to the story. This book is labeled HORROR but honestly the ghosts weren’t the scary part, it was the treatment of those boys in the reformatory. 

The pacing was a miss in the middle of the book, making this way longer than it needed to be, but that heart-pounding conclusion makes it a worthwhile read.