In the oppressive heat of Jim Crow Florida, young Robbie Stephens Jr. contends not only with the racism and injustice pervading the era but with the spectral inhabitants of the Gracetown School for Boys, where he is incarcerated for six months. This reformatory, masquerading as a correctional institution, harbors a much darker presence—the ghosts of boys who whisper of unspeakable horrors that occurred within its walls. With the aid of these unsettled spirits and the resilience of his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie must navigate a world rife with danger where the boundary between the living and the dead blurs. As his sister Gloria tirelessly works from the outside to free him, Robbie’s ability to see 'haints' draws him closer to the grim truths of the facility's past and presents a slim chance for his own future. Tananarive Due crafts a tightly woven narrative in 'The Reformatory,' melding historical fiction with ghostly encounters to illuminate the tales of the lost boys of a cruel institution and the boy who bears witness to their stories.