The Reformatory A Novel
The Reformatory A Novel by Tananarive Due, published by Simon and Schuster on January 7, 2025, is a historical fiction work that delves into the harrowing experiences of a young boy in Jim Crow Florida. Set in June 1950, the story follows twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr., who is sentenced to a segregated reform school known for its dark past. As Robbie navigates the challenges of the Gracetown School for Boys, he confronts the realities of racism and injustice, both in the living world and through his ability to see ghosts.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines Robbie’s struggle for survival with the haunting presence of the past, as he uncovers the fate of boys who have gone missing at the reformatory. With the support of his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie learns the harsh rules of the institution while his sister Gloria seeks to rescue him from its clutches. The Reformatory presents a vivid exploration of historical themes, including the impact of systemic racism and the resilience of family bonds, all while drawing from the real-life tragedies associated with the infamous Dozier School for Boys. This edition spans 576 pages and is presented in English.
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*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, page-turning “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 “hallucinatory, haunting, terrifying, and moving” (S.A. Cosby, bestselling author of All the Sinners Bleed) 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.
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