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    The Reformatory: A Novel
    The Reformatory: A Novel
    The Reformatory: A Novel
    Audiobook20 hours

    The Reformatory: A Novel

    Written by Tananarive Due

    Narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    *Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner * New York Times Notable Book * Locus Award Finalist * Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award *

    “You’re in for a treat...one of those books you can’t put down...Due hit it out of the park.” —Stephen King

    A gripping, page-turning “masterpiece” (Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman) 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.

    Editor's Note

    Award-winning author…

    In this supernatural horror novel set in Jim Crow-era Florida, Robbie, a young Black boy, is unjustly sent to a cruel reformatory school. Haunted by ghosts of the past and a sadistic warden, Robbie’s forced to make a chilling choice between self-preservation and justice — for the living and the dead. Based on the real-life horrors of the Dozier School for Boys (where the author’s great-uncle died as a teenager), this story delves into humanity’s capacity for evil.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateOct 31, 2023
    ISBN9781797160139
    Author

    Tananarive Due

    Tananarive Due (tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo) is an award-winning author who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. She is an executive producer on Shudder's groundbreaking documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Her books include Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, The Good House, and The Reformatory. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, coauthored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights. She is married to author Steven Barnes, with whom she collaborates on screenplays. They live with their son, Jason. 

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    Reviews for The Reformatory

    4.5/5

    467 ratings39 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title captivating, emotional, and exciting. It is highly recommended and considered one of the best books. The writing is amazing and the story evokes a range of emotions. However, there is one negative review that criticizes the ending as meaningless.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This was one of the best fiction books I’ve ever read. The pacing of the story was perfect. Plenty of mystery, and suspense. Characters were well developed and had strong personalities in a believable manner. I fell in love with the characters and my heart hurt when their hearts hurt. Love love love.
    • 5/5
      A book I’ll never ever forget! A must read!
    • 5/5
      Harrowing. Inspirational. Wonderful narration. Wonderful narrative. A nearly perfect novel.
    • 5/5
      What a story, just incredible!
      Miss/Mrs. Due you did your thing with this one
    • 5/5
      Chef kiss!!! This was amazing!! I was on the edge of my seat!!
    • 4/5
      4.75⭐️ so freaking good! This book was just in time for spooky season and it lived up to all the hype. You were invested in the characters and what happened to them. I liked that there were multiple story points going on besides just poor Robert in the Reformatory. Fantastic Southern Gothic that still represents problems in our prison system today. Can’t wait to read/listen to something else by this author!
    • 5/5
      Vivid characters, sparkling vocabulary paint a poignant picture of a difficult subject that of children incarcerated in what amounts to be jail not a reformatory.
      Run by a sadist who has one object in mind...satisfying his penchant for cruelty and violence.
      The Jim Crow era is presented with sympathy and familial love and strength woven in historical facts.
      Add some supernatural activity with
      the KKK, the NAACP, white and black struggles in an era of change and those who resist it and those who foment it.
      The Reformatory is an excellent read and will be a favored reread of mine.
      Kudos to the author.
    • 5/5
      The thought that the horrors were true, the resilience of children. The worry that there might be some current reality, the fear that some horrid places still exist on this planet.
    • 5/5
      Great book from start to finish. May we continue to heal as a nation through the truths of the past.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully written fiction story that depicts the sad truth about the plight of black Americans during this time period. If you’re a lover of historical fiction, I highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      Amazing story telling. The book really puts you back in the moment that the story depicts
    • 5/5
      Loved it!! I liked the way souls that have been wrong was staying around messing with warden.. the past can't be buried
    • 5/5
      A pretty good book read by a good reader.
      Yay
    • 5/5
      This book was so good! I couldn't stop reading it once I started
    • 5/5
      Incredible book that sucks you right in and has you caring for these characters like your own family. I strongly believe it is a must read book for everyone, it teaches so much empathy and educates us on our dark history.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed listening to this book. The author can soon spin a great take that has meaning and depth! Highly recommend. Can't wait for Everand to add more of her audio novels!
    • 5/5
      Great characters, plot and narration very Stephen King like! Awesome!
    • 5/5
      You can not knock the writing and narration of this audiobook. There is not 1 moment that is lacking nor a miss. It is what it is, horrors brought to the black community thru prejudice and human stupidity. What is represented here is the worst kind of horror, the kind that is man made and bred thru generations of heretics to further a belief of inhumanity and injust causes that boggle the mind. Sad... but true, and probably mildly depicted, even at this level...it can rip you up. Ug...I'm exhausted... the word human is so meaningless when it comes to prejudice. Excellent audiobook...thank you to the author and an incredible job by the narrator. Horror has many forms but this is the worst.
    • 5/5
      Loved it! I caught myself holding my breath in anticipation of what would come next. A sad moment in history.
    • 5/5
      I wanted a Horror Book and I got just that. Only I was more afraid of Haddock then the ghosts.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely adore this author! I'm reading everything of hers - this is haunting, heart pounding & reflective. Will read again!!
    • 5/5
      Love this book. Heart breaking and beautiful both at once
    • 5/5
      Wow. What a story. What a novel. Due's writing is as well orchestrated as a piano sonata, never hitting a sour note, and wound as taught as a piano wire. I devoured this book and when I wasn't actively listening to it I was looking forward to when I could next listen to it, desperate to find out what would happen to Robbie, Gloria, and the boys of the Reformatory.

    • 5/5
      One hell of a great story! Very well written and the reader was a perfect match.
    • 5/5
      Very interesting and informative. Many twists and turns throughout and the characters (both heroic and villainous) were clearly drawn.
    • 5/5
      Wow, what a book. Narration was great and the story unforgettable.
    • 5/5
      Excellent from start to finish! Well done! Well written. Five stars!
    • 5/5
      Historical and suspenseful wonderful writing.
      Along with heartwarming and a little bit scary
    • 5/5
      This is my first thriller/mystery/horror novel. I'm a bit of a chicken, and for that reason it took longer to get through than it otherwise would. But wow did it keep me on the edge of my seat until the very end. The writing was so right, the kind that makes you feel like you're right there with the characters along for every twist and turn. And the backdrop of the Jim Crow south made the horrors of the main story that much more horrendous. I highly recommend!
    • 5/5
      Awesome read! Author and narrator bring these characters to life so vividly! After years of reading mostly self help and non fiction books, this was a great way to find my way back to fiction and it felt like balance. The ugly racist history of my own home state of Florida that doesn’t feel as much like history as it should and an amazingly descriptive fictional tale that snatches you up and keeps you as a willing captive. I finished in three days. I grew to love these characters. I knew them and I rooted for Robbie and Gloria and even Ms.Lottie in this troubling coming of age ghost story. Being all too familiar of Northern Fl where I’ve always felt the spirits of my own ancestors in the eerie trees… this story was so believable but I thank God it isn’t real. From the very beginning I wanted to burn the place down! Lol! Robbie and Gloria won’t soon leave my mind and heart! So excited to move on to the African Immortals series by Ms.Due! You have a life long fan!