candaceonline 's review for:

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

4.5

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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The Reformatory by Tananarive Due takes place in 1950 Jim Crow Florida. Robbie is only 12 years old when he gets sentenced to 6 months in the Gracetown School for Boys. He kicked a white boy who was harassing his sister, Gloria. The school is known as The Reformatory, and is a place full of horrors. Many boys have died there, and the ones that survived have endured terrible things. Robbie is able to see ghosts, and the school is full of them, adding extra torment. Meanwhile, Gloria is doing everything she can to get Robbie released, having to deal with the klan targeting her and her loved ones. This is a sorrowful and powerful read. Due based the school and characters on real life. The author had a family member who died at a school like this. These characters grab onto your heart and don’t let go. I spent the last fifty or so pages crying. The writing is wonderfully executed. I felt the suspense and fear. It is an emotional read. It shattered me several times. This is an intense and complex book, but I think it is an important one. This may be a fictional account, but it is rooted in very real experiences that need to be remembered. 4.5/5 stars.