The Reformatory

A Novel

By: Tananarive Due

Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt

*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 “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.

©2023 Tananarive Due (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator Joniece Abbot-Prat voices Gloria’s strength and despair alongside her chilling performance of Robbie’s terror." (Matthew Galloway)

“…Set during the Jim Crow era and inspired by the real-life Florida School for Boys in Marianna, The Reformatory is a terrifying, nerve-wracking novel, steeped in ugly truths about racism and American history. Narrator Joniece Abbott-Pratt manages to heighten the considerable tension with her heartfelt interpretations of the shifting, powerful emotions of Robert and Gloria: their anguish, fear, longing, sorrow, and, eventually, furious determination. She never lets you forget that they’re children facing the unthinkable, like so many children before them…Abbott-Pratt’s precise vocal inflections also bring to life the secondary characters, among them Redbone, a boy who befriends Robert at the school; Boone, a corrupt prison guard obsessed with haints; Miss Lottie, the elderly church lady who doesn’t leave home after dark without her pistol; and the warden himself, whose soul is a murderous black hole. It’s a tour de force performance, a worthy enhancement to Due’s vision.” (Connie Ogle)

Just wow-flawless and haunting read

When critics of the horror genre make remarks that horror is void of depth, substance, or heart. I present to you those book.

Phenomenal!

It usually takes me about seven days to finish a book. However, this one drew me in immediately, and I was done in 48 hours. I loved it and will reread it soon!

Shockingly good

This was unexpected as I selected the book based on a reviewer on TikTok. It’s wonderfully performed and brings a ghost story where the true horror is the history that inspired it.

I’ll never fully recover.

This book was so well written. The characters were rich and vibrant, the descriptions of the setting made me feel like I had seen it on TV.
I usually don’t get a visceral reaction from books, but JFC my heart was in my stomach and I was sweating ice water at multiple points in the story.
It was bleak, depressing, terrifying, and nauseating. Probably exactly how a lot of people felt everyday in the Jim Crow south. Amazing read, 2 thumbs up for Mrs. Due!

Sensational Suspense

One of the best written suspense novels I've come across. It literally had me sitting on the edge of my seat with each passing chapter, and at the same time not wanting the book to end. The readers voice was perfect.

A punch in the gut

I’ve yet to read a book by T. Due that hasn’t knocked it out of the park. Coming from Alabama it was real the race differences I grew up with. I really enjoy the occult touch that’s added to the books.

A Must Read

While fictional, this book blends the terror of the supernatural with the terror of the Jim Crow South and juvenile incarceration. I'd recommend it to everyone

The story

This is the best fiction I've read in a long time. Absolutely wonderful. Highly recommended.

Excellent 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

A great book written by a great author, her other books are great as well. The book is a great listen for ages 12 and older enjoy

Awesome

This book had me on the edge of my seat in tears. Wonderful narration. Love all her books. Best book I have listened to all year!