Review: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

The Reformatory

by Tananarive Due

Release Date: October 31, 2023

2023 Gallery/Saga Press

Ebook Edition; 576 Pages

ISBN: 978-1982188344

ASIN: B0BHTN8L13

Audiobook: B0BRNYV5GM

Genre: Fiction / Historical / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.75 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

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.

 

My Thoughts

The Reformatory is a raw and emotional reminder of the Jim Crow era, one that should never be forgotten. This was an incredible read, and some of the things that were described were difficult to read about, as they should be, and I have to give credit to the author for the incredible amount of research that must have gone into this book. However, as much as I enjoyed it, it read much more as a historical fiction novel with a few paranormal elements to it as opposed to a horror novel. So the question to be asked here is, was it scary? No, not really. Was it psychologically disturbing? Yes, definitely, as it should be. But when you put it all together, it didn't quite work for me despite the incredibly strong first third of the book.  

First of all, the setting is amazing and I loved reading every description that was given about the reformatory school.  I definitely appreciated the level of research the author did in order for her to be able to describe the grounds and the buildings the way they would have looked in the 1950s.  And even getting a hint of some of the horrors those building contained was enough for me to read feeling tense wondering when we would visit those buildings and what we would find there when we did. And who in their right mind would name a whipping shed 'The Funhouse'. Twisted people. 

This is a long book, something I don't usually mind, but I did find the pacing was off which did affect the overall story.  I thought Gloria's story line was unnecessary, and she was annoying a lot of the time. I understand her panic and stress, but I think she was only used to show some of the racial issues that existed during that time period, otherwise her part could have been cut out completely without having any impact on the story. Personally, I thought it would have been better without the interruption.

Robert's story line was the more impressive of the two and I loved the paranormal element that was added to it. The things that Robbie and his friends endured are heartbreaking and absolutely terrible. Other than a couple of scenes though, the author didn't go into detail about what happened and the information was left to the reader's imagination.  This is the reason this felt much more like a historical fiction read rather a horror read; instead of feeling truly horrified, I was able to distance myself from what was happening rather easily as there were no descriptions of most of the things the boys went through, just the aftermath. When one of the boys has a broom and the Superintended gets mad because that is his special broom he uses with the boys, it is not as impactful as it could have been.  I am not complaining, but horror-wise, it could have been so much worse to read, and this is what I was expecting, even if I was hoping not to, if that makes sense.

I enjoyed Robbie as a main character, and wished more of the other characters had been more fully fleshed out; there was certainly room to do so at 500+ pages.  I did wonder at times if the author was unsure if she wanted to focus more on the historical ill-treatment of children at this school or on the paranormal aspect of the story as the two did not always blend together well.  

Verdict

The Reformatory is one of those novels over which I have mixed emotions; one the one hand, I loved the descriptions of the school and thought the unjust Jim Crow laws were definitely something that need to be highlighted again, especially with regards to what is currently happening in Florida. However, I did feel like Gloria's story line was unnecessary and the pacing was off which affected the overall tension of the story.  I would have liked the secondary characters to have been more developed as they were fascinating in themselves, and although I really enjoyed the paranormal element to the story, I did feel like it conflicted with the main story line at times.  Well worth the read just to learn about the school on which the story was based.