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The Reformatory

The Reformatory

MysteryParanormal
Pages
576
Published
2023
Language
English

Synopsis

In 1950s Florida, twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr. is sent to a brutal segregated reform school after defending his sister from a wealthy white boy. Robbie soon discovers the school is haunted by the ghosts of former students, whose restless spirits reveal the dark truth of what happens behind the gates. While Robbie struggles to survive the school's harsh reality, his sister Gloria fights a desperate legal battle to bring him home.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkTenseGrittyThought-Provoking
SurvivalComing of AgeFound FamilyMultiple POVs

Genres

Mystery Paranormal Thriller Dark Fantasy Historical Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Paranormal Horror Gothic

About the author

T
Tananarive Due

Tananarive Due is an American writer of horror, science fiction and mystery, born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1966. Her debut novel The Between appeared in 1995, and she went on to write the African Immortals series, beginning with My Soul to Keep, as well as The Good House. Her novel The Reformatory won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel along with the Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy awards; her story collection Ghost Summer won the British Fantasy Award, and The Living Blood earned an Amer...

Characters

Robert Stephens Jr.Protagonist
Gloria StephensProtagonist
RedboneSupporting
Miz LottieSupporting

An elderly ally who helps Gloria in her efforts to free Robbie.

All characters in The Reformatory

Frequently asked questions

  • Is The Reformatory based on a true story?

    Yes. The novel is dedicated to Robert Stephens, Tananarive Due's great-uncle, who died at age fifteen in 1937 at the real Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a segregated reform school in Marianna, Florida notorious for decades of abuse and unmarked graves. Due learned of his death from the Florida state attorney general's office years before writing the book, and gave his name to her protagonist. The character Miz Lottie is named for Due's grandmother, Lottie Stephens Sears Houston.

  • What awards has The Reformatory won?

    The Reformatory won the 2023 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel, the 2023 Shirley Jackson Award for Novel, the 2024 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and the 2024 Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Prize (for science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction). It was also a Locus Award finalist and a New York Times Notable Book.

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