Long Way Down

If Jason Reynold's purpose as a writer is to write stories that student's want to read, he has succeeded beautifully. Long Way Down is a lyrically rich telling of a boy, Will, whose brother was killed and now he has to follow "The Rules" to avenge his death. It is a fast read in verse which after 3 readings is still as powerful, yet beautiful as the first time I read it. I am teaching this to High School reluctant readers and the discussion is so rich and authentic that I can't help, but grin at all the clamoring of comments.. I even had a student today finish the book early and had to vehemently discuss the ending. Class could not progress until he had talked about the book. As a reading teacher, I read a lot of YA and I try choose books that the students will connect to and will need to discuss because they are that involved in the story. Long Way Down is that surprisingly structured book that will prompt complex discussion and thought. It sticks. It is that well written.By the way, Jason Reynolds narrates the audio-book for Long Way Down and he's got such a honey baritone that makes the story come alive. Plus hearing the figurative language emphasizes it's power. Phrasing I have read several times makes me pause and wonder at the beauty of the writing frequently as he reads it. The audio-book adds extra layer of "gushworthiness" to the whole story. I recommend both.

Great book! Easy read and really makes you stop and think.I wish I could have bought a copy for each of my students.It touches base on the very serious topic of young gun violence and the "rules" of the streets.

This is a great novel for students who loathe reading.

In the novel Long Way Down, New York bestselling author, Jason Reynolds tells a heart-wrenching and suspenseful story. In this short but long feeling story we as readers learn about a brother named William Hollomen also known as Will. Will just had lost his brother the night before due to gun and gang violence. Will repeats a set of rules his late brother Shawn taught him: never cry, never snitch, and always get revenge no matter what. Throughout the novel, Will is on an elevator for only sixty seconds through 306 pages. He encounters six dead people that connect to himself, including his brother Shawn. Reynolds uses verse to share the perspective of Will and his thought process on his way to complete rule number 3. This book will have readers on the edge of their seats, and needing it to be finished in one sitting. A short read it is, but with the dialogue and description that is used it feels like it is much longer than it is. The poetic language is beautifully written and enhances the anticipation of finishing the novel through its entirety. Figurative language such as repetition, sentence structure, and diction spreads from page to page making this piece of work emotionally tearing. This novel spreads awareness of gang/gun violence to the audience and shows readers the trail a death can leave behind. I highly recommend this book for personal and educational purposes to spread the word about violence in communities as rough as Wills and Shawns.

This was such a unique experience! The author used poetry to tell their story! Left you wanting more! Great conversation staters!

There is no fitting way that I can think of to describe a book of this caliber. I cannot even admit that I have completely understood the full magnitude that this story carries.Long Way Down takes place in a span of one minute.Sixty seconds.It is set in an elevator, in which a young, angry boy gets on and begins his long journey down.7654321A moment.An instant. That is all it takes. An elevator ride down, seven floors.In one minute, Jason Reynolds changes your perception of everything.In that one minute, you are blindsided.In that one minute, he leaves you reeling.In a single minute, the book outlines the life of this young man, Will, the day after his brother, Shawn, was found shot dead. Will knows the rules. He lives by the rules.1. You don’t cry2. You don’t snitch3. You seek revengeWill is absolutely certain he knows the man behind the murder, and he is out for vengeance. After a long sleepless night, he wakes up knowing exactly how his day is going to go. He finds his brother’s gun and leaves the house with the intention of going after the person responsible for his brother’s death. He steps onto the elevator, but it keeps stopping at every floor, forcing Will to confront his fears, his doubts and most importantly, his beliefs.Long Way Down is written in verse-form, and although this style is usually not my preferred style, Jason Reynolds set a completely new standard with his writing, eloquence and articulation. He manages to deliver clear, distinct and important messages with just a few words. In fact, the book will not take you more than 30 minutes to read, but the impact left afterwards is powerful and long lasting. In an interview I read, Jason Reynolds says:“I need my young brothers who are living in these environments, and the kids who are not living in these environments to have no excuses not to read the book. The truth of the matter is that I recognize that I write prose, and I love prose, and I want everybody to read prose, but I would never, sort of, deny the fact that like, literacy in America is not the highest, especially amongst young men, and especially amongst young men of color. It's something that we've all been working very hard on, and my job is not to critique or judge that. My job is to do something to help that, and to know you can finish this in 45 minutes means the world to me, so that we can get more young people reading it and thinking and then having discussions on what this book is actually about.”He also explains that he set the story in an elevator, because he wanted to mimic the feelings of anger, pain and helplessness. To him, these feel claustrophobic, like you are wound up tight.“It feels like tightness and coldness, steel, jagged movements and vertigo. All the things that an elevator brings, is what it feels like to be that angry.”One of the reasons Reynolds was able to convey these feelings so accurately was because of his own past experiences struggling with those same feelings of anger and pain when his best friend was killed, and his first impulse was to end the life of the person responsible. He also wanted to change the perception that people who commit these crimes are fearless or without emotion.“The truth is that everyone who has ever been around anyone who has been in these environments knows that the people who pull the triggers are terrified.”Long Way Down really pushes boundaries, questions your thoughts and beliefs and does not shy away from treading on important topics, such as race and gun violence. Getting a glimpse, albeit a very brief one, of Reynolds’ way of thinking makes you look at things differently and go, “Ahh, yes. I see now.”

It definitely didn’t end how I thought it would but the author gets you thinking! I’m going t to donate it to a school because there’s questions at the end that make ya think!

This story pulled me I from the moment I started reading it. Loved every minute of the story. I really hope this gets made into a movie someday. And meeting Mr. Jason Reynolds and getting him to sign my copy was icing on the cake. Did I mention that I loved this book!

This is perfection, everything is extremely well done from the narrative to the page design, after reading this you will definitely see some changes in your point of view when it comes to the discussions brought up by the author.As expected 10/10 would recommend

Ottimo

Loved the language and the story, the author found a fresh and appealing way of dealing with the topic of youth violence

J'ai du mal avec la poésie sans rythme. Ici la forme soutient parfois la pensée mais c'est très artificiel. Par exemple si je prenais mon commentaire et que je le détachais en vers, ça donnerait pareil et ça n'a pas toujours grand intérêt.L'histoire par contre est plus intéressante. On suit notre protagoniste, dans sa tête, qui souhaite venger la mort de son frère, tué par balle dans contexte de règlement de compte entre gangs de rue. Il suit les Règles comme son frère, comme son père. Il prend l'ascenseur et à chaque étage, quelqu'un rentre.L'occasion est ici donnée d'explorer ces règles de la rue, la transmission, la vengeance...Apparemment l'histoire n'avait pas été conçue sous forme poétique. Pourquoi pas. En tout cas on le sent bien. Parfois ça fonctionne et d'autres fois pas. Pas à voix haute en tout cas. C'est un peu le défaut du récit.J'ai quand même bien aimé globalement, le personnage est sympathique et on espère qu'il fera le bon choix.

El libro llegó en perfecto estado. Hablando concretamente de la historia: increíble. Muy original con un narrador muy complejo a la vez que inocente. Gran libro