The Reformatory

When Robert Stephens Junior was sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys for kicking a white boy, his sister Gloria vowed she would save him. At only sixteen Gloria had become Robert’s guardian. Their mother passed away and their father was in Chicago laying low while the authorities condemned his work as a civil rights leader. Twelve year old Robert was terrified. It did not take long to learn that the horrific stories about the reformatory were true and even worse than he imagined. Although he was advised to stay out of trouble by becoming invisible, Robert’s talent for seeing haints (ghosts) quickly puts him in the spotlight. Gloria tries the legal route, questioning the sheriff, the powerful white landowner that reported Robert and even the NAACP. With no time to lose she turns to her godmother Miz Lottie, a mighty old woman who has never let their family down. Together they devise a plan to help Robert before it is too late. Gracetown was based on the Dozier School for Boys, an actual reform school in the Florida Panhandle built in 1900. Despite the horrific rumors, it wasn’t until an investigation in 2009 that finally led officials to close the facility. In 2012  a team of forensic anthropologists from USF uncovered 55 burials and nearly 100 unexplained deaths. This shocking novel set in the 1950’s explores racism, injustice and the power of family. It is not a quick or an easy read, but a necessary one. ⭐⭐⭐⭐