A review by robin1b
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

5✨✨ Very few fiction books are a 5 to me. A 4.5 is normally just a perfect as can be. Then comes a unicorn. The Reformatory is the unicorn. Due has created a world that feels so really because it is real and fiction at the same time. From the first page, you are drawn into the characters and the plot. You cry, you rage and you sometimes smile. History and truth is intertwined with ghosts, haights and old wives tales which may or may not be true. The story is peppered with names and stories you may have heard in history class during Black history month. 

Set in the 1950’s during Jim Crow in Florida, we follow two children who battle more than any of us imagine and so much of it is true yet still fiction. Read this book and get ready. Get ready to go on a ride that will take your breath away. 

Spice: 0/5
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