Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Reformatory

When I tell you I screamed over a timestamp.

What do I even say? I want to rate this 5 stars, I really do. This was extremely well thought out and well-written. Personally, I thought the pacing was almost perfect (I didn’t think it was too slow. Honestly I kind of wished this book was a bit longer), and I loved how seemingly different Robbie’s and Gloria’s chapters were in tone, but they all showed the fear, frustration, sorrow, and rage that made up the siblings’ shared suffering. No matter that they were both so far apart from one another. I’m only rating this 4.75 because I would have loved a longer ending! There was so much to cover in this book; I desperately needed a breather at the end. There were also more details I’d hoped to encounter, but that might just be because I have a general preference for very reflective books.

I am also not 100% sold on the decision to make Haddock THE villain to the point where all others paled in comparison. Personally I would have liked to know more about the neighbors, but I also understand that there was no way Tananarive could have included that without ruining the pacing of this book. Though I am surprised that Loehmann just fell off. I don’t think he could have helped any other way besides securing that slot for Gloria and Miz Lottie, but I thought it was funny that he just fell off and readers would likely completely forget about him, as I did.

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taelorfiller's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad 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? No

4.0

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elysianbud's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One of the best books I have ever read.

Tananarive Due writes about some of the worst human behaviour imaginable, but also some of the most beautiful depictions of bravery and friendship: a wedding photo saved, a drawing of friend, a helping hand. Both extremes will make you sob throughout this book. Chapters 32 and 33 in particular almost had me screaming in anguish--I probably would have, if not for the neighbours.

This is a longer book than I typically read but it does not drag for a single moment. This is one of the tightest narratives I've ever read; there's not a word wasted, it's paced perfectly from beginning to end.

I picked this up for the ghosts, so when I realised there was more then just Robert's perspective, I wondered if I would lose interest, as is often the fear with multiple perspective stories. However, Due manages to make both Robert and Grace's narrative tense and terrifying in their own ways, with or without the haints. In fact, the haints aren't even the scary part of this story. The living are the ones to fear, and Due made me shiver with fear and my heart ache in pain with their disgusting behaviour.

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narbine's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

Loved this

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