The Reformatory A Novel
The Reformatory A Novel by Tananarive Due is set for publication by Simon and Schuster on October 31, 2023. This 576-page work of historical fiction explores the harrowing experiences of twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr., who is sent to a segregated reform school in Jim Crow Florida. As Robbie navigates the challenges of the Gracetown School for Boys, he confronts the realities of racism and injustice, both in life and through the spectral presence of ghosts that reveal the dark truths of the institution.
Readers will find a narrative that delves into the complexities of survival and resilience amid systemic oppression. Robbie’s ability to see haints adds a supernatural dimension to his journey, as he uncovers the unsettling fate of boys who have gone missing at the reformatory. Alongside his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie learns the harsh rules of his environment, while his sister Gloria works tirelessly to secure his release. The Reformatory presents a poignant exploration of historical trauma and the quest for justice, reflecting the author’s commitment to shedding light on untold stories from the past.
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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 haunting 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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