The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
on January 7, 2025
Genres: Fiction / African American & Black / Historical, Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Horror
Pages: 576
Format: Paperback
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Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory is a haunting, unforgettable blend of historical fiction and supernatural horror, set in 1950s Jim Crow Florida. Inspired by the real-life horrors of the infamous Dozier School for Boys, Due gives voice to the countless children whose stories were silenced—and she does so with masterful, devastating precision.
The novel follows twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr., sentenced to six months at the segregated Gracetown School for Boys after defending his sister, Gloria. What awaits him is not reform but terror: brutal labor, unchecked racism, and the chilling reality of boys who enter the school and never leave. Robbie’s ability to see ghosts—haints—adds another layer to the story, turning the supernatural into a powerful lens through which the truth of the school’s horrors comes into focus. His friendships with fellow boys Redbone and Blue become lifelines, while Gloria’s desperate efforts to bring him home highlight the strength and resilience of family even in the darkest circumstances.
I read this for book club, and like many of the readers, I found myself echoing the same sentiment: “Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to cover it.” This is an important book, but one that can make you feel physically ill at times—especially knowing that so much of it is drawn from real lives and real atrocities. Stories involving abused children are always incredibly difficult to read, and this one is brutal in its honesty. And yet, the narrative is so compelling, the pacing so tight, and the characters so richly developed that it becomes impossible to look away.
Robbie, Gloria, and the boys of Gracetown feel achingly real; their pain is palpable, their hope fragile but unyielding. Due’s writing honors their humanity even as it forces readers to confront the weight of this history.
The Reformatory is not an easy read—but it is a necessary one. A powerful, page-turning, and deeply affecting novel that lingers long after the final page.
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