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A review by pattyspages
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING!
Wowwwwwzers! I am forever moved and so grateful for the privilege of reading something written with so much intense insight and restrained beauty.
With Gothic tones and moments in American history being retold, this is a great one for spooky season even though it's not actually spooky (it's more scary/tense because of what the characters have to endure).
After Robert and his sister are accosted by Lyle McCormack, Robert finds himself sentenced to 6 months at the Gracetown Reformatory School for Boys where it's sinister past insists on haunting it's way into the light.
This book made me mad, it made me laugh out loud, it made me sob into my pillow and it was hands down my best reading experience of 2024 so far.
The storytelling is immersive, it's flawless, it's gorgeous and it's addictive.
Every time I sat down with this book, I was excited to see what would happen next.
You guys know that anything set in Jim Crow Florida is a HARD PASS for me, so it is a testament to the writing that I was so hooked on it.
Due did a brilliant job of stressing me the f@ck out without traumatising me and bringing a lightness to certain moments without ever diminishing the depth of the story, allowing the reader to take a much needed breath.
I am so sad it's over because the characters are still with me and I cannot wait to read her other works now!
IT. WAS . STUNNING
Wowwwwwzers! I am forever moved and so grateful for the privilege of reading something written with so much intense insight and restrained beauty.
With Gothic tones and moments in American history being retold, this is a great one for spooky season even though it's not actually spooky (it's more scary/tense because of what the characters have to endure).
After Robert and his sister are accosted by Lyle McCormack, Robert finds himself sentenced to 6 months at the Gracetown Reformatory School for Boys where it's sinister past insists on haunting it's way into the light.
This book made me mad, it made me laugh out loud, it made me sob into my pillow and it was hands down my best reading experience of 2024 so far.
The storytelling is immersive, it's flawless, it's gorgeous and it's addictive.
Every time I sat down with this book, I was excited to see what would happen next.
You guys know that anything set in Jim Crow Florida is a HARD PASS for me, so it is a testament to the writing that I was so hooked on it.
Due did a brilliant job of stressing me the f@ck out without traumatising me and bringing a lightness to certain moments without ever diminishing the depth of the story, allowing the reader to take a much needed breath.
I am so sad it's over because the characters are still with me and I cannot wait to read her other works now!
IT. WAS . STUNNING