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Front cover of The Reformatory

The Reformatory

by Tananarive Due

$10.66 on Amazon

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ISBN1982188359
Tananarive Due

About the Author

Tananarive Due

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The Reformatory

by Tananarive Due

Preview · not reviewed yet

The Reformatory is a historical horror novel set in 1950s Florida that follows a twelve-year-old boy sentenced to a reform school, where he uses his ability to see ghosts to uncover the fates of missing inmates. The story blends supernatural elements with documented history, drawing on the real abuses at Florida's Dozier School for Boys and the author's own family history.

Set in Gracetown, Florida in June 1950, the novel follows twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., who is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys after defending his older sister Gloria from the son of a prominent landowner. Inside the reformatory, Robbie encounters boys who have gone missing and discovers, through his ability to see ghosts—called haints—what has truly happened to them. His sister Gloria simultaneously works outside the institution to secure his release through family connections.

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What this preview is based on

Amazon listing (bibliographic data, cover & pricing) — Amazon

Open Library work record — Open Library

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The Reformatory is a historical horror novel set in 1950s Florida that follows a twelve-year-old boy sentenced to a reform school, where he uses his ability to see ghosts to uncover the fates of missing inmates. The story blends supernatural elements with documented history, drawing on the real abuses at Florida's Dozier School for Boys and the author's own family history.
Who is it for?
This is a novel written for adult readers. It combines historical fiction with horror elements and engages with serious themes of racial injustice and institutional violence in Jim Crow-era America.
What are the main themes?
The book explores racial injustice, institutional cruelty, sibling bonds, survival, and Jim Crow-era racial violence. It uses Robbie's supernatural perception as a way to connect personal suffering with larger systemic harms.
Who wrote it?
Tananarive Due is an American Book Award–winning author who drew on her own family history—specifically a relative whose story her family did not speak of—to write this novel grounded in documented history.
What format or source is it?
The Reformatory is a published novel for adult readers. It is presented as historical fiction that incorporates horror elements.
What's this book about?

What's this book about?

Set in Gracetown, Florida in June 1950, the novel follows Robbie Stephens, Jr., a twelve-year-old boy sentenced to six months at a reform school after defending his sister. Inside the institution, Robbie encounters missing boys and uses his supernatural ability to see ghosts (haints) to discover what happened to them, while his sister works outside to secure his release.

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Answers are AI-generated from what's known, ahead of our full review · LuvemBooks