Reformatory Girls Book Nedra Tyre 1960 Original Title Hall Of Death

The front cover may scream "trashy 50s juvenile delinquent pulp" (which is honestly why I bought it) but it's actually more of a literary novel that turns into a locked-room mystery toward the end. There's actually nothing pulpy about this at all, and it's based on the author's own experiences as a social worker. It's told in the first-person by a new teacher at an all-girls reform school, Miss Michael, and she's somewhat horrified by the prison-like relationship between the staff and the girls. Many of the girls have obvious serious issues, and she'd like to help them, but the rest of the staff have slowly learned to become detached and now are content to just do their job and nothing more. Miss Michael soon comes to realize that some of the girls are beyond her help, and when students and/or staff (I won't spoil it) start ending up dead, by their own hand or another's, she knows she's in over her head. The copyright of this book is 1960 and it is a paperback with yellowing pages and some issues towards the bottom of the spine, although it is still in readable condition but I would be a little careful with it. Personally, I love to keep books like this on my bookshelf to surprise browsers. I love books with humorous titles or corny content. I expected this to be among them and surprisingly it’s a little more serious than expected. I thought it was a worthwhile read, three out of five stars