Long Way Down

De: Jason Reynolds

Narrado por: Jason Reynolds

A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
A Printz Honor Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)

New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds’s “tour de force” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) novel in verse takes place in sixty potent seconds: the time it takes a kid to go down an elevator—and decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.

Will’s older brother, Shawn, has been shot.
Dead.
Will feels a sadness so great, he can’t explain it. But in his neighborhood there are THE RULES:

No. 1: Crying.
Don’t.
No matter what.

No. 2: Snitching
Don’t.
No matter what.

No. 3: Revenge
Do.
No matter what.

So fifteen-year-old Will puts a gun in the waistband of his jeans and sets out to do just that. Avenge his brother. But when he gets on the elevator, it inexplicably stops on every floor, and each time, a different person—each connected to his brother—steps on. And each person gives Will a bigger piece of the story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if Will gets off that elevator.

Not to mention that each person who gets on that elevator is…dead.

Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds.

not to be missed

Much of the power in this poetry lies in the emotional and beautiful narration by the author himself.

great for YA or Book Clubs

Narrated by the author, which I loved. Written in prose, which is cool. Interview with author at the end is helpful!

great story

.took me a second to understand the end. but the story was powerful. I believe YA should be aware of this book. especially black urban youth

Beautiful!

I loved, loved, loved this book. Haunting and creepy, Reynolds tells a complex story in a short time.

Haunting and beautiful

Jason Reynolds is a powerful writer, and hearing him read his own work is a treat. The premise of this story is creative and unexpected. It is poetry in the truest sense of the word.

We should all have and take advantage of the opportunities to glimpse lives different from our own. This book helps to make me a bit more aware of my own misunderstandings and prejudices, and I hope, more empathetic and accepting.

Thank you, Mr. Reynolds.