Review | The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

The Reformatory is a work of literary horror fiction by Tananarive Due.

A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

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.

I can't do this book justice so I'm not even going to try, but I do want to jot down some thoughts about The Reformatory.

First and foremost, this book is a masterpiece. Tananarive Due is an incredible writer, and this book is remarkable. If the world would allow a horror book to win all of the literary prizes, I think The Reformatory deserves all of the literary prizes.

The second point I need to make is this is a tough read. One particular chapter had me shaking so much I couldn't even type my thoughts to the friends I was reading this with. I'm not sure that's happened in any other book that I've read. This was a powerful read.

I wish I could do a deep dive into the layers of racism, injustice, grief, hauntings, friendship, family, and so much more, but this book is important to experience the way Tananarive Due intended. The book description does a great job blurbing what the book is about.

I give The Reformatory the highest of recommendations, but I also need to state there's child death, child abuse, and child sexual assault along with violence and racism and other content warnings that you may need to seek out prior to reading.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5 stars

Source: personal purchase (audio). This is a review of my reading experience.

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First Book of the Year 2024

Happy New Year! I hope the new year is finding you happy and well. If the first book of the year sets the reading tone and expectations for the year to come, I'm excited to make mine a diverse horror novel that I'm reading with friends.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

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.

If you would like to join us during the month of January (or pop in later to view our thoughts), we will be discussing The Reformatory on the Horror Spotlight discord.

What will be your first book of the year? Do you pick something specific to celebrate or do you just read what you are in the middle of/next on your list?

Book Review | The Between by Tananarive Due

The Between is a horror novel by Tananarive Due.

A brilliant novel of horror and the supernatural in which a middle-class family’s very existence is threatened by inner and outer demons

When Hilton was just a boy, his grandmother sacrificed her life to save him from drowning. Thirty years later, he begins to suspect that he was never meant to survive that accident, and that dark forces are working to rectify that mistake. When Hilton's wife, the only elected African-American judge in Dade County, Florida, begins to receive racist hate mail from a man she once prosecuted, Hilton becomes obsessed with protecting his family. Soon, however, he begins to have horrible nightmares, more intense and disturbing than any he has ever experienced. Are the strange dreams trying to tell him something? His sense of reality begins to slip away as he battles both the psychotic threatening to destroy his family and the even more terrifying enemy stalking his sleep.

Chilling and utterly convincing, The Between follows the struggles of a man desperately trying to hold on to the people and life he loves, but may have already lost.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Between! I have had Tananarive Due on my TBR for so long. The Ladies of Horror Fiction team decided to choose her debut novel for our Women in Horror Month readalong and wow! If this is her debut, I am in for a treat with the rest of Due's catalog!

There were so many layers to The Between and they were all expertly woven together. It's a relatively short book at a little less than 300 pages. I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say this is an excellent place to start if you haven't read anything by Tananarive Due yet.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★