The Reformatory book banter and review

I’m not a big fan of horror books, so I was skeptical that I would enjoy Tananarive Due’s award-winning book, The Reformatory. But, one critic claimed it was “One of the best novels published in 2023” (NPR), so, I thought I’d give it a chance. Read my thoughts in The Reformatory book banter and review. Then, share your opinions in our book banter comments section below.

During the 1950’s in Florida, Robbie, a young Black boy, is sent to an institution for juvenile offenders. While there, he and the other Black and White boys are expected to reform themselves, and become responsible adults.

Meanwhile, his older sister, Gloria, is coping with teenage life in a racist, rural Florida community. She wants to go to college, which was a lofty goal for a young Black woman, but she also wants to help Robbie get an early release.

Gloria admires her father, a labor organizer who was forced to seek shelter in Chicago from death threats. Her goal is to get Robbie safely out of the institution, and then reunite with her father in Chicago, where they can happily live as a family again.

Sounds like a nice plot, but this is supposed to be a horror story! Other than the horrific racism which Robbie and Gloria experienced every day of their young lives, where does the spooky, Dracula-type-of-horror come in? That’s what I wanted to know, and that’s why I was skeptical of this book—at first!

Unfortunately, the story started out slowly, which only reinforced my skepticism. However, the story was pleasant to read, and the author was excellent about slowly revealing each character and their personalities.

In fact, I felt like the slow pace in the beginning of the novel was also a technique that Victor Hugo had used in Les Miserables. That book, too, started out very slowly.

But, Les Miserables slowly revealed itself to be a brilliant literary masterpiece. Would The Reformatory also turn into a compelling work of literature? I didn’t know, but I kept reading.

Amazingly, the colorful way that the author described the surroundings, the community, and the people, helped make me feel that I was participating in the story. It was as though the author’s descriptive words pulled me into Robbie’s and Gloria’s world. I was sensing what they felt each day.

Soon, I began empathizing with the two protagonists—I shared their feelings of hope, despair, as well as their relentless drive to excel at their goals. And, I slowly started to feel their fears, as well.

Slowly, as the supernatural horror started to unfold and reveal itself, it made me shiver, just a little bit. But, those feelings of trepidation kept building.

I turns out that Robbie could feel the presence of people who had died. In other words, he could see ghosts, or haints, as they are called in Robbie’s world.

He could sense them, and he could communicate with them. Some were nice, and didn’t want to harm him, while others were not so nice.

In addition, Robbie had premonitions of the future. His sister, Gloria, also had premonitions. Those premonitions became a subtle part of the storyline—they added to the tension, and to the horror of what was to come.

Yes, this novel slowly developed into a horrific experience for the protagonists.

In addition to the horror enveloped in the supernatural world, the prejudice and injustice of the racist world of the early 1950’s revealed itself. It’s a fact—that world really happened. Unfortunately and horrifically, people all over the world still experience the injustice and pain of racism. That’s a fact, too!

Racism and injustice significantly impacted young Robbie’s life—he felt the wounds both outside and inside the reformatory. As I read, I experienced the debilitating injustices, too.

And as an intelligent, young Black woman, Gloria also experienced those racist horrors. The author’s brilliant descriptions helped me empathize with Gloria’s predicaments and fears. I felt those horrors with her.

Horrifically, those racial injustices actually happened to real people, in our real world. And, as a reader of this book, you will also feel those frightful trepidations.

Because of the tension that kept building and pulling me in, it was difficult to stop reading this book. And, after I did take a break, I still felt like I was in Robbie’s and Gloria’s world.

Creating that connected feeling of empathy is the mark of an excellent author. I think Tananarive Due did a remarkable job of pulling me into the story line, and into the environment where Gloria and Robbie lived. It was an exceptional literary achievement.

I loved this book. It started off slowly, but the tension gradually pulled me in, and didn’t let go. I felt the fears that both Robbie and Gloria experienced, but I also felt their hopes and dreams for a better future.

And adding to the horror was the fact that the injustices that both Robbie and Gloria experienced happened in real life, in our real world. And, they’re still happening today.

If you enjoy reading Stephen King’s books, then you should read this book, too. Yes, The Reformatory is that good, and maybe better.

If you’ve read The Reformatory, please share your thoughts in the book banter comments section below.

When I was a boy, I believed that I could see ‘spirits’, just like Robbie did. I used to play this song late at night, and imagine them visiting me. It was crazy! But, to this day, I still believe in unexplained things that exist , but that most people cannot see. Just because we can’t always see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t real.

Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter