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)

Amazing storyline

It’s so good, truly pulls you into a different time. Teaches you about Jim Crow south and has good haunts. Loved it.

Storytelling at its best.

A unique telling that could only have come from Tananarive Due. I will be haunted for days by this story and the characters within it.

Joniece Abbott-Pratt

OH MY GOD wait I can’t even say enough about the voice actor that read this book she TOLDDDDD this story. AMAZING

Innocence Family Love Truth

Horrific, yet beautiful. The world needs more stories like this one. Thank you, Tananarive Due.

Excellent horror/historical fiction!

This story is marvelous! Extraordinary writing, plot, and horror through a black lens while also incorporating historical fiction.

I love that this story shows that horror to a black person in America- now and especially at this time during the violent and sadistic Jim Crow south of Florida was racism. In addition to white folks who got to have their way with them as much and as often as they wanted.

Tananarive Due does an amazing job of drawing a tale of just how depraved and cruel America can be to a a black child in a place that seeks to “reform wayward youth”

Immersive, Well told, Perfection

This book was awesome. Tens across the board! I don’t usually listed to stories of the Jim Crow south. But this is beyond that. This is a whole world that you are immersed in. The author t really transports you back in time. The story was long but that is a good thing in this case. She really took her time in telling an important story. The characters were well developed and the story was captivating. It took you through every emotion. Very memorable. One of my best reads. The reader was the perfect choice.

Enthralling!

The story is emotional, and the characters are truly realistic. It's another breathtaking masterpiece by Mrs. Due!
The Reformatory may be fictional; however, it serves as a reminder that monsters are real.

Characters not found anywhere else

This was a wonderful audible presentation. The characters and story line - although unsettling- were beautifully developed. The combination of stories within the main story enriched the readers understanding and although not for the faint of heart this creation is worth time as a creative composition and historical perspective piece .

The narration is excellent

So many good stories are ruined by poor narration. This is definitely not the case here. I can’t overstate how well this novel was read. I’ll be looking for other stories she has narrated. Just terrific. The story is exciting and emotional. The best listen in 2024 for me

devastating and unsettling and SO well written

HOLY MOLY COW this was devastating and unsettling and SO well written. It ruined my night but it’s one of my favorites so far this year. It’s a little long at 565 pages/21 hours, but that gave me the time to really get to know the characters which adds another level to the devastation.

This is definitely better as an audiobook and the narrator does an amazing job conveying the complexity of every character.