Cover of The Reformatory
Ghost StoriesHorrorHistorical Fiction

The Reformatory

by

  • 2023 first published
  • 576 pages
  • 4 editions
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Tananarive Due's The Reformatory (2023) is a ghost story and horror novel. The story is set in Gracetown and Florida, in 1950. It features Robbie Stephens Jr and Gloria Stephens. Key subjects include Segregation and Adult.

37 Open Library readers have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 4 editions.

At about 576 pages, most readers finish it in 10–11 hours.

About The Reformatory

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.
Description from Open Library

Awards & lists

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Setting

  • Florida
  • Gracetown
  • Gracetown School for Boys

Era

Characters

  • Robbie Stephens Jr
  • Gloria Stephens

Subjects

  • African American fiction
  • Historical fiction
  • Horror
  • Segregation
  • Ghost stories
  • Thriller
  • Historical
  • Mystery
  • Paranormal
  • Adult

Quick answers

Who wrote The Reformatory?

The Reformatory was written by Tananarive Due and first published in 2023.

What genre is The Reformatory?

It is usually shelved as Ghost Stories, Horror and Historical Fiction.

How long is The Reformatory?

The median edition has 576 pages, about 10–11 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to The Reformatory?

Readers who like it often enjoy Mexican Gothic, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain and Dracula.

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