WEBVTT
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What's up, Plot on the Rocks family?
00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:08.000
It's your girl Alicia here, and we are trying something new with preview episodes.
00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:24.000
So instead of waiting for the full episode to premiere, since we only, you know, do our episodes bi-weekly, in between, we're going to be dropping these mini episodes in between regular scheduled programming, so little ones or three-minute sound bites to give you a preview of what is coming next.
00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:29.519
And for our first ever preview episode, we're going to be talking about the reformatory by Tanana Reeve Do.
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.960
Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty of it, I do want to give you guys a little bit of a content warning because the topics of the Reformatory are incredibly heavy.
00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.079
It deals with racism, racial violence, child abuse, and child sexual abuse.
00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:54.399
These are some incredibly difficult and disturbing things to read and talk about, so please take care of yourselves and decide whether this is a book you are comfortable in engaging with.
00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.799
Now, with that being said, this is honestly probably one of our favorite books that we have read this season.
00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.039
It's an incredibly important book.
00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:04.319
We cried.
00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.680
We had to take breaks in between because of how heavy the topics were.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.640
I will say there was a little bit of a happy cry at the end, so there is a happy ending.
00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:17.840
But I think it's safe to say that this book had us all kind of stressed out.
00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:31.359
If you haven't read the Reformatory, it follows 12-year-old Robbie Stevens, a black boy living in Jim Crow Air, Florida, who gets sent to a reform school after trying to protect his sister from a white teenage boy who makes a pass at her.
00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:43.040
Now, this boy happens to be the son of the most prominent landowner in the county, and because of this, Robert is also kind of made an example out of when he is sent to this school.
00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:52.640
Now, this is a ghost story at its core because the reform school is riddled with ghosts in there.
00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:04.079
But the deeper you get into this book, the more you realize that the supernatural horror is sitting right alongside something that is much more terrifying because of what is real.
00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:13.120
This really goes into what is scarier, the ghosts or the real life evil that people are capable of inflicting upon each other.
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.599
And that is something that I think got us all.
00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:22.719
And one thing about Robbie is that he can see the dead, which should feel like this incredible supernatural ability.
00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.520
He uses this to, you know, communicate with his mother who just recently passed away.
00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:34.240
But at the reformatory, it's something that he has to use to literally survive.
00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:43.520
Tanana Reeves does such an incredible job of blending supernatural horror with the very real horrors of racism, violence, and the history surrounding these institutions.
00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:53.199
Because this book is actually inspired by a real life reform school, the Dozier School in Florida, that one of Tanana Reeves' relatives actually attended.
00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.039
And this school didn't close down until 2011.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:05.199
So a school that inflicted such horrors on these children only closed within the past 10 to 15 years.
00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:11.680
There's so much more that I want to say about this book, but I don't want to give everything away, so you'll have to tune in to the full episode.
00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:17.280
So grab your drink, get comfortable, and join us for a conversation about the Reformatory by Tananda Reeve Do.
00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:22.719
The full episode premieres next Friday on August 28th on Plot on the Rocks.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:26.879
And since we're trying something new here, let us know what you think about these mini previews.
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.599
And something to think about for the next episode.
00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:30.879
What's scarier?
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:32.879
The ghosts or the living?
00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:02.479
What's up, Plot on the Rocks family?
00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:08.000
It's your girl Alicia here, and we are trying something new with preview episodes.
00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:24.000
So instead of waiting for the full episode to premiere, since we only, you know, do our episodes bi-weekly, in between, we're going to be dropping these mini episodes in between regular scheduled programming, so little ones or three-minute sound bites to give you a preview of what is coming next.
00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:29.519
And for our first ever preview episode, we're going to be talking about the reformatory by Tanana Reeve Do.
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.960
Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty of it, I do want to give you guys a little bit of a content warning because the topics of the Reformatory are incredibly heavy.
00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.079
It deals with racism, racial violence, child abuse, and child sexual abuse.
00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:54.399
These are some incredibly difficult and disturbing things to read and talk about, so please take care of yourselves and decide whether this is a book you are comfortable in engaging with.
00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.799
Now, with that being said, this is honestly probably one of our favorite books that we have read this season.
00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.039
It's an incredibly important book.
00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:04.319
We cried.
00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.680
We had to take breaks in between because of how heavy the topics were.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.640
I will say there was a little bit of a happy cry at the end, so there is a happy ending.
00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:17.840
But I think it's safe to say that this book had us all kind of stressed out.
00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:31.359
If you haven't read the Reformatory, it follows 12-year-old Robbie Stevens, a black boy living in Jim Crow Air, Florida, who gets sent to a reform school after trying to protect his sister from a white teenage boy who makes a pass at her.
00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:43.040
Now, this boy happens to be the son of the most prominent landowner in the county, and because of this, Robert is also kind of made an example out of when he is sent to this school.
00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:52.640
Now, this is a ghost story at its core because the reform school is riddled with ghosts in there.
00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:04.079
But the deeper you get into this book, the more you realize that the supernatural horror is sitting right alongside something that is much more terrifying because of what is real.
00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:13.120
This really goes into what is scarier, the ghosts or the real life evil that people are capable of inflicting upon each other.
00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.599
And that is something that I think got us all.
00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:22.719
And one thing about Robbie is that he can see the dead, which should feel like this incredible supernatural ability.
00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:27.520
He uses this to, you know, communicate with his mother who just recently passed away.
00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:34.240
But at the reformatory, it's something that he has to use to literally survive.
00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:43.520
Tanana Reeves does such an incredible job of blending supernatural horror with the very real horrors of racism, violence, and the history surrounding these institutions.
00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:53.199
Because this book is actually inspired by a real life reform school, the Dozier School in Florida, that one of Tanana Reeves' relatives actually attended.
00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.039
And this school didn't close down until 2011.
00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:05.199
So a school that inflicted such horrors on these children only closed within the past 10 to 15 years.
00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:11.680
There's so much more that I want to say about this book, but I don't want to give everything away, so you'll have to tune in to the full episode.
00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:17.280
So grab your drink, get comfortable, and join us for a conversation about the Reformatory by Tananda Reeve Do.
00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:22.719
The full episode premieres next Friday on August 28th on Plot on the Rocks.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:26.879
And since we're trying something new here, let us know what you think about these mini previews.
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.599
And something to think about for the next episode.
00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:30.879
What's scarier?
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:32.879
The ghosts or the living?
