Review Detail

Hazel Perez hasn't gotten over her former BFF Becca's rejection. Hazel is usually a loner and is surprised when Becca invites her to sit with her and her friends during social studies, where they decide to do a group project on the abandoned Oakwell Farms. Becca's family has ties to the property. During a visit, Hazel is knocked unconscious. Waking up, she senses a supernatural presence attached to her. Rage and revenge surface, that has nothing to do with Hazel. While trying to make sense of what is happening, Hazel learns her family is connected to a horrific secret of the Farms. A secret that the spirit will do anything, including harming anyone, who stands in the way of the truth.

What worked: Haunting, suspenseful thriller where generational trauma refuses to remain silent. Add ghosts of those who died at a so-called rehabilitation farm into the mix. The author uses two different time periods to show us Deirdre in 1995, whose parents have her kidnapped and taken against her will to the Farm due to her being gay. These scenes show the inhumanity and cruelty that were inflicted on those teens sent there. The present day has Hazel, who uncovers a family secret that ties them to the farm and what happened there.

Hazel starts off as shy and a loner. She's the 'good' girl of the family, so when a supernatural presence attaches itself to her and changes her personality and her actions, those around her question what's happening. But since she never got into trouble, at first family and the school administration brushed it all off as a concussion she got from the fall. This happened due to a prank that went wrong.

What I really liked was how Hazel searches for what might have happened to close the Farm, even when others around her try to stop her. The truth, though painful, needs to be told. Add the supernatural part with her grandmother using espiritismo. This is a belief that spirits can interact with the human world.

Becca at first comes across as the Mean girl, but little by little, it's revealed what really happened to cause the friends to break up. The truth is haunting and heartbreaking. Quint is her brother and had a relationship with Hazel, but ignored her when school started. This story is more about uncovering the truth of a rehabilitation Farm than romance. Quint does his best to stand by Hazel, even when his overbearing father does everything he can to sever any relationship.

What's beyond sad is that these so-called troubled teen places still exist. Paris Hilton has made it one of her missions to bring light to the terrible conditions at these places. When she was a teen, she was at a well-known camp in Utah. Sharing her story has brought long-needed awareness to this troubling industry.

The Reformatory meets the Troubled Teen Industry with supernatural suspense mixed in to make this a captivating thriller. At the end of the novel are links to information on a couple of schools that were part of the troubled teen industry and the truth behind what happened.