‘The Reformatory’ tells the story of a young black boy, Robert, in 1950s Florida who’s sent to a correctional school populated by both ghosts and brutal human overseers. 
There is a lot that is genuinely great about the book. It has a wonderful sense of place, vivid and engaging characters, some brilliantly horrible ideas and many really powerful scenes. And yet I didn’t love it quite as much as I expected to, sometimes that happens with a book and it’s hard to put your finger on why. I think in this case it’s that despite the enormous peril the characters (especially Robert) endure, the book never quite had me all the way to the edge of my seat. I wanted to know how things turned out, and I certainly came to really care for the characters, but never felt that gnawing uncomfortable hunger that the very best suspense novels inflict on their readers. 
That may be a personal thing, and I certainly thought this was a very good book overall. Moving, gripping and thoughtful, it just didn’t torture me quite enough.