The Reformatory tells the story of Robert Stephens Jr. who is unjustly sent to the Gracetown School for Boys and his sister, Gloria, who is desperately trying to get him out.

The school is full of ‘haints’ or ghosts but the true horror is the action of men in the Jim Crow-era south. Tananarive Due has created a fully realized world that will infuriate and shock but ultimately stands as a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit. 

And, although a work of fiction, it is based on Due’s own connection to the very real horrors that took place at the Dozier School for Boys - which adds another layer while reading.