The Reformatory vs Yellow Wife: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: African American fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction
The Reformatory
Gracetown, Florida - June 1950 Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his…
vs
Yellow Wife
Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Yellow Wife is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 10 for The Reformatory.
- Yellow Wife has the widest readership — 97583 ratings behind its score.
- Yellow Wife runs the darker storyline; The Reformatory stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Reformatory | Yellow Wife | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.4 (95767) | 4.4 (97583) |
| Hardcover | 4.5 (163) | 4.2 (47) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (397) | 4.5 (1088) |
Reception
| The Reformatory | Yellow Wife | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 95767 | 97583 |
| Editions | 4 | 7 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 260765 | 175868 |
| Pages | 576 | 288 |