This was one of those books I had to really psych myself up to read, because I knew it was going to be at the edge of my horror tolerance, but I had heard good things about it. And I’m so glad I added it to my summer TBR.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is about a “reform school” for boys, and it is inspired by an incident from the author’s own family history, where an ancestor was sent to one of these “schools” and did not survive the experience. My short description of this book when asked has been “It’s about the horrors of reform schools, oh, and also there are ghosts.”
In 1950, Robbie and his older sister Gloria are trying to get by in their small Florida town. Their mother passed away and their father had to leave town when his union organizing ways got him into hot water. When Robbie (a black twelve-year-old) kicks a white boy who is harassing his sister, he’s sent to the Gracetown School for Boys. This school is, of course, a glorified prison, where the boys (segregated by race) are forced to do grueling work and punished for every infraction, with the bare minimum put into their education to keep up the charade.
While Robbie tries to survive and perhaps formulate an escape plan, Gloria tries to pursue legal channels to get her brother out. These twin narratives dive in to the horrors of Jim Crow, reform schools, and the legal system. At the same time, Robbie (like most young people in their town), can see ghosts, and he’s learning more about the school from the spirits of the dead, whose motives are their own.
This being 1950s Florida, we’ve got menacing sheriffs, corrupt judges, an evil headmaster, lawyers who pick and choose their battles, and so many other obstacles in Gloria’s way. This being a small town, we also of course have people who stick together and find their own solutions.
The content warnings for this book are many, but the story is so satisfying that it’s worth pushing through the discomfort to watch Due bring all the elements together. Because this is horror and there’s thus no HEA guaranteed, I was honestly anxious throughout the book, wondering if Robbie would get out, wondering which characters wouldn’t survive til the end.
The Reformatory is a great example of the fact that people of color and the queer community are doing amazing things in horror right now (and maybe they have been for a long time, I’ve only been reading horror for a few years). This melding of the real history of the south with the supernatural makes for a tense and satisfying read, and I strongly recommend it if you can stomach it.
CWs and TWs: Racism including use of racial slurs; violence; regular references to sexual assault including of young boys; references to child abuse and death, including infant death; violence against animals including dogs; parental death; parental abandonment; gun violence; references to lynching. Probably other content I’m forgetting, but those are the big ones.
Source and Format: I borrowed the ebook from Seattle Public Library.
Reading Challenge Prompts
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): Hello From the Other Side. I will never not choose a ghost story for this prompt. This makes three years in a row, so it’s a tradition now.
SAL/SPL/KCLS: BIPOC Historical Fiction/Non-fiction. While this book includes supernatural elements, it is very much grounded in real history, with the added element of drawing on the author’s own family history.
Reading Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 10 of 25, no bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 16 of 25, 1 bingo.
Book Riot: 12 of 25.
Physical TBR: 6 of 12.
World of Whimm: 18 of 24, 3 bingos.
SAL/SPL/KCLS: 14 of 23, 1 bingo.