Title: The Reformatory

Author: Tananarive Due

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Reformatory-Novel-Tananarive-Due-ebook/dp/B0BHTN8L13/

Summary

Gracetown, Florida

June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie’s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory.

Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it’s too late.

The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award–winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.

My Review

5/5 Stars

I took my time reading this book. Not just because it’s one of the longer novels I’ve picked up in recent months, but because it’s the kind of story that demands to be read slowly. The Reformatory is heavy, haunting, and emotionally exhausting. Set in Jim Crow-era Florida, it follows two siblings who are simply trying to survive in a world designed to break them.

After Robbie is sent to the Gracetown School for Boys for his “crime”, the true horror of the story unfolds. The school is notorious for its brutality, and Tananarive Due does not soften what the boys endure there—torture, abuse, and disappearances that everyone seems determined to ignore. What makes Robbie’s experience even more chilling is his ability to see haints, the restless ghosts of boys who never made it out.

Robbie’s fight to survive is heartbreaking on its own, but Gloria’s parallel struggle was bad in a different way. Watching her push against a system that is racist and corrupt was infuriating. The emotional weight of their combined stories builds relentlessly, making it impossible not to feel angry, helpless, and deeply moved.

This is not an easy read by any stretch, but it is an important one. I completely understand why this book has earned so much critical acclaim. It deserves every bit of it. After finishing The Reformatory, one thing is certain: I’ll be seeking out more of Tananarive Due’s work.