A review by heathermoodreads
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

While this book took me a while to get through because it was so emotionally taxing, I was hooked. The slow pace at the beginning set up the whole story very well. Due is a beautiful writer and knows how to make you care for the characters. This book was repetitive at times, but I think it was important to show how much Gloria loved her brother and Robert's character development as well. 

This book doesn't shy away from the horrors of the South during the Jim Crow Era. It also doesn't shy away from the terrible things the boys went through in this reformatory school. The way they were treated was horrible, and knowing that people were treated and still get treated that way was awful to read about. 

The head master deserved worse than what he got at the end. The ghosts of the school were so sad to  read about, especially learning about how they were treated. I felt a lot of emotions while reading this book.