The Reformatory Book Review

“One thing I’ve learned…
Everything seems fine until it ain’t.
And then we come to see it wasn’t never ‘fine.'”

Synopsis

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.

REVIEW

Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory is a harrowing, skillfully crafted novel that I’m still thinking about long after the final page—both as a horror story and as a searing indictment of the brutal realities of the Jim Crow South. It is an unflinching blend of historical fiction, horror, and social commentary, exposing the evils of systemic racism through the eyes of twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr., a boy whose only crime is defending his sister.

From the outset, Due immerses the reader in a suffocating atmosphere of injustice, making it impossible to look away from the sheer cruelty Robbie endures at the Reformatory (as well as Black people at large). The institution itself is a nightmarish landscape, haunted not just by literal ghosts but by the specters of real-life atrocities—children stripped of their innocence, crushed beneath the weight of a system designed to break them. The villainy on display is infuriating, not only in the overt brutality of the guards and administrators but in the silent complicity of those who look the other way. It is a reflection of history’s darkest chapters, one that echoes into the present.

Yet amidst the horror, Due gives us moments of profound humanity. Robbie’s bond with Redbone (and even Blue) provides a flicker of light in an otherwise oppressive darkness. His sister, Gloria, is a force of resilience and love, a reminder of the tireless fight against injustice. And the women who try to help—however limited their power—stand as testaments to quiet, steadfast courage.

The novel’s pacing, particularly in its final act, is relentless. The last hundred or so pages filled me with dread and urgency, mirroring the desperation of that poor child trapped in a hell as he fought for escape. And while some readers may long for a clearer resolution or a grand reckoning, Due’s choice to leave justice ambiguous feels intentional. The real-life horrors that inspired this story did not always come with neat endings, and the fight for justice remains unfinished.

Ultimately, The Reformatory is a gut-wrenching, vital work—one that forces us to confront the past and acknowledge the ways its echoes still shape our world. It is not an easy read, nor should it be. But it is an unforgettable one, and Due’s skill in weaving history, horror, and heart makes it a modern classic in the making.

Thank you to Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the free copy for review.

Original publication date was 31 October 2023.