Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

16 reviews

thehmkane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A very good and important book. While I enjoyed Due's prose, I felt like the pacing took much of the urgency out of the story - the climax moves at a good clip, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

eclipse799's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wylovat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Police brutality, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War

becandbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

 An incredibly personal, gut-wrenching, and transportative story inspired by the real-life horrors of Dozier School for Boys, The Reformatory drew me in from the beginning. Going into it, I knew I was settling into a disturbing tale. Still, I wasn't prepared to become so deeply invested in the narrative—not just the story of Robert and Grace but also the tale of the institution itself.

Rooted in a time after the abolition of slavery, when ingrained racism was rampant in the lives of Americans in the South, The Reformatory begins with this racism landing young Robert Jr in the Gracetown School for Boys. It is a place where every day is a fight for survival, and the trauma of the past does not stay buried in the ground. The plot then unfolds into a rich and encompassing story, lingering with ghosts and a fierce fight for justice.

The knowledge that these ghosts, whether real or not, have a place in history is chilling. The incorporation of subtle glimpses of possible story paths through the paranormal is done beautifully. Tananarive Due has crafted a story that will both grip and haunt readers from beginning to end.

Readers considering this story should be aware that it is by absolutely no means a light read. Review the trigger warnings if you are not comfortable with graphic and disturbing content. However, beneath all the horrendous aspects is a brilliantly written story that deserves immense praise. 

 

becandbooks.com ‧ the storygraph ‧ trigger warning database ‧ more links

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Slavery, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

→ trigger warnings: racism (including slurs & racial profiling), slavery mentioned, lynching mentioned, hate crimes, fire, incarceration (main theme), toxic masculinity, misogyny, bullying, child abuse, child death & murder, rape discussed, blood & injury depiction, sexual harassment, lashings, emesis/vomiting, stabbing & knife violence recounted, death from dog attack discussed, dead bodies discussed, gun violence

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If this book doesn't win the 2023 Stoker, I will riot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Vomit

Minor: Antisemitism and War

gloomypanda's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism