The Reformatory

A gripping, page-turning novel 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.

These book club questions are from the publisher, Simon & Schuster.

Book club questions for The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

The Reformatory starts out with Robbie Stephens Jr. as simply a young boy who has just lost his mother and is dealing with the absence of his father, who was forced to flee town for his safety. How does the lack of those parental figures impact him? Does grief play a role in helping Robbie, hurting him, or both? In what ways?

Reflect on the relationships Robbie has while serving time in the reformatory school. How do they shape and motivate him? What does his friendship with Blue and Redbone provide him? What does his dynamic with the warden provide him?

Discuss the need for characters to put on appearances in order to survive. For example, Gloria’s character is sometimes accused of “talking white” for speaking properly. Meanwhile, other times she is shown to play dumb and speak more simply, depending on whom she is talking to. Why does Gloria need to do this to accomplish her mission? What are other examples of situations in which characters had to play a role? Can you think of a time you had to adopt a false role to achieve a goal?

What role does Christianity and faith play in the story? How does belief in a higher power define the characters and their actions?

Throughout the novel, characters interact with or mention real and prominent African American figures from the Jim Crow era, such as Ruby McCollum, Harry T. Moore, and Zora Neale Hurston. How does the inclusion of real heroes of Black history contribute to the story for you? Had you heard of these people before?

Robbie and Gloria have powers—Robbie sees haints, Gloria is clairvoyant. These gifts become incredibly useful tools in helping the siblings survive their situations, but they also bring with them a great weight. In what circumstances do their abilities become a burden?

Discuss the ways that gender and racism intersect in this story. Robbie and Gloria are both poor Black children, but are they viewed and oppressed differently? What about the experience of white women characters and Black women characters?

Throughout the novel we witness Gloria trying anything she can to save her brother, first taking the path of legal representation but then quickly realizing she is trying to fight fair in an unfair system. Why do you think Gloria tries so hard to abide by protocol at first? What are other examples of characters taking matters into their own hands when authority figures fail them?

In chapter 8 Gloria thinks, “What was the point of white skin if you couldn’t do whatever you put your mind to?” Discuss the characters that aid the Stephens siblings throughout the story: Miss Anne, Mr. Loehmann, Mr. Crutcher, and his sister Mrs. Crutcher Hamilton, among others. Identify the differences in the lengths they are willing to go to in helping. What is holding each character back and what drives them to eventually push past that hesitation or stop helping altogether? Why are some characters more willing to stick their necks out to make progress than others?

In the final chapter, Gloria says that “everyone would try to say that only the warden left mauled in the creek had created the unholy suffering at that place, when the whole town had a hand.” What does she mean by this?

The Reformatory Book Club Questions PDF

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