The Reformatory is a sprawling story encompassing both a teenage and adult point of view.
We follow 20-year-old Robert, a black youngster who after an innocuous incident is sent to the titular reformatory, only this isn’t any old institution for bad kids. With tinges of the supernatural, this is part of a coming-of-age tale but in a time of extreme racial prejudice.
For those who didn’t witness this sort of discrimination this can be initially hard to stomach until you realise everything you’re reading really did happen (well except maybe the supernatural bits).
On the flipside, we follow Robert’s sister who is plotting to break him out of the reformatory and escape this life for good.
At nearly 600 pages this is a hefty read, but author Tananarive Due does well to keep the story moving forward and provides rich characters for us to follow, who are both good and bad.
A recommended read.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is available now from Titan Books.
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