Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

21 reviews

idabwells's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Antisemitism and Death of parent

thebookshelfblossom's review against another edition

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

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

4.0

This book… wow. I’m not sure I breathed for the last 20% while I listened. It’s set in northern FL in 1950, when Robbie, a young Black boy, is sentenced to 6 months at a segregated reform school. You think the ghosts, or “haints,” Robbie sees are what will spook you, but you learn that what’s flesh and blood is much more sinister. 

The audiobook is fantastic. I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy the singular narrator with dual POVs, but I did. This isn’t my normal genre, but I’m glad I branched out. Due does an incredible job immersing you in the surroundings. 

If you enjoy historical fiction, and want to try one that is ghosts this spooky season, give this one a try. But PLEASE check all TW. Some really horrific themes are on page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

brewdy_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Historical Fiction • Paranormal • Thriller 
Pub Date • 31 October 2023

Thank you to @sagapressbooks for gifting me a finished review copy.

TLDR; just read this one. Fast paced and riveting; a perfect blend of multi-genre, whether you like thrillers, ghost stories, or historical fiction. Based upon the true story of the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, where many atrocities took place.

This book, like Vampires of Del Norte, was nominated for GoodReads best Horror of 2023, which honestly made me put off reading either of them until 2024. And like Vampires, after reading it, The Reformatory is not one I would have classified as horror. I’m having to rethink what is categorized as horror and where the line is between horror and thriller and “just a story that has spirits, ghosts, or other paranormal types”. But I digress. 

Set in post-antebellum Florida, being “free” is only a generation removed from slavery. Freedom does not mean equality under the Jim Crow laws where segregation is pervasive. In a town where children can still hear whispers of spirits from the past, Robbie (“Robert Stephen Jones Jr.) is shipped off to a reform school for juvenile delinquents after kicking a white boy who assaulted his sister. The Graceland School for Boys is a chamber of terrors and injustice for boys of all colors, but especially his. I laughed and I cried and was fully engrossed for the whole read until the very end. This gets my highest rating.

TW: Child Abuse, Racism, Death, Rape (off page), Murder, Assault, Arson

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

The Reformatory is one of the best books I’ve read this year and one of Due’s best, which is hard tos ay because all of her books are phenomenal. 

 Steeped in history and her own personal family trauma is a tale of a young boy in the south sent to a horrific “school” for boys and his journey to find freedom with help from the spirits who refuse to leave without justice.

This story is heart wrenching and horrifying, made all the more painful because it’s based on a real place where real boys were tortured, raped, abused and murdered. I highly recommend looking at triggers before starting this one just to be safe, because it’s brutal. While spirits and the supernatural are paramount to this story, the true terror is in the lack of humanity and completely disgusting and historically true displays of racism. 

This story was phenomenal but so hard to get through, there were several times I had to put this down and just decompress because it weighed so heavy on my heart. Books like this are some of the most importantly literature in my eyes, especially at a time right now where racism and bigotry are being paraded around as political candidates. 

10/10 everyone should read if you can handle it.  I will be thinking about Robert, his family, the boys left behind, and the message of this novel for a very long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was long but so so so worth every minute spent on it. Every word was purposeful. Every character well developed. Every scene useful. In this sense, it reminded me of the economical beauty that was the movie Monster. Execution was flawless for that movie, as was this book. Possibly the only thing that would’ve either made it even better or maybe might’ve moved it from perfect to over the top would’ve been if Thurgood Marshall or Zora Neale Hurston made an actual appearance in the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

booksteader's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death of parent

peachmoni's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is my first Due book, and I don't think I could have chosen better. I annotated the heck out of this book; the writing was so good that there were so many sentences, paragraphs - whole pages, even - that I never want to forget. I appreciate the sensitivity with which the author handed a real and truly harrowing experience. She described the horrors in a way that was complete, but not exploitative or gratuitous. I think some of her other books are more straightforward horror (this was plenty scary, don't get me wrong) and I am a chicken, but I plan to read her entire oeuvre. I know I'll find works that will entertain and transform me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

qqjj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

vegan5533's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

An incredible addition to any historical fiction collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism