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ashleewardy 's review for:
The Reformatory
by Tananarive Due
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Phew. This book took me over a month to get through…not because it wasn’t good, but because the material is HEAVY. It’s intense. It’s heartbreaking. While The Reformatory is technically fiction, it’s plot follows chilling real-life events: the atrocities committed at the Dozier School, the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, and the so-called Indigenous “schools” in Canada. It also draws from author Tananarive Due’s own family history, including the incarceration and brutal stabbing of her late uncle. 💔
This novel offers an unflinching, powerful portrayal of the dehumanizing reality of juvenile incarceration. I’ve had this Aardvark book for a while, but reading it now…while our current administration continues to unlawfully and inhumanely detain hundreds of people in appalling conditions…made it hit even harder. The parallels are gut-wrenching. 🤢
It’s not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. It gave me a new perspective on life in the Jim Crow South of the 1950s, where survival itself required unimaginable strength. The characters are unforgettable, their resilience both inspiring and devastating. I felt Gloria’s fear through every page.
While the books genre is listed as “horror,” the most horrifying thing isn’t the supernatural. It’s the very real, systemic racism that defined the era and STILL!!!!! poisons our society today. How the fuck are we still here?
I try not to get overly political in my reviews, but I’ll make an exception here: every trumper needs to read this. Then tell me - honestly - that what’ is happening at “@lligator @lcatraz” is anything less than barbaric.
This novel offers an unflinching, powerful portrayal of the dehumanizing reality of juvenile incarceration. I’ve had this Aardvark book for a while, but reading it now…while our current administration continues to unlawfully and inhumanely detain hundreds of people in appalling conditions…made it hit even harder. The parallels are gut-wrenching. 🤢
It’s not an easy read, but it’s an essential one. It gave me a new perspective on life in the Jim Crow South of the 1950s, where survival itself required unimaginable strength. The characters are unforgettable, their resilience both inspiring and devastating. I felt Gloria’s fear through every page.
While the books genre is listed as “horror,” the most horrifying thing isn’t the supernatural. It’s the very real, systemic racism that defined the era and STILL!!!!! poisons our society today. How the fuck are we still here?
I try not to get overly political in my reviews, but I’ll make an exception here: every trumper needs to read this. Then tell me - honestly - that what’ is happening at “@lligator @lcatraz” is anything less than barbaric.