Long Way Down

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a masterfully written novel-in-verse that grips the reader from the first page and doesn’t let go. The story follows Will, a 15 year old boy consumed by grief and rage after his brother is killed. With a gun tucked into his waistband, he steps into an elevator to seek revenge but each floor brings a ghost from his past who challenges his mission and forces him to reconsider the cycle of violence. The entire book takes place during the 60 seconds the elevator descends, making the tension intense and the pacing incredibly tight. Reynolds uses free verse with raw emotion and lyrical power to convey the weight of trauma, family legacy, and the unspoken rules of street life. The minimalistic yet poignant style makes the book accessible, especially to younger readers and reluctant readers, while delivering a message that resonates deeply. It’s not just a story about revenge it’s about choices, pain, and the haunting power of memory. A must-read for teens and adults alike, Long Way Down is a brilliant, unforgettable book that challenges hearts and minds.

Really great book it has a great story

Just brilliant. Compelling story, told in verse that is wonderfully succinct, yet speaks volumes of the protagonist’s experience. Could not put this book down. A must read. Highly recommend.

“ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE RULES: They weren't meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow.” I’ve always loved stories written in verse, so when I heard about this own-voice tale of the struggles that toxic masculinity and systemic racism place upon young black men, I was immediately interested. I wanted to focus on supporting as many new-to-me black authors as possible in February, and Jason Reynolds was at the very top of my list. This man has a writing voice that absolutely needs to be heard. “But if the blood inside you is on the inside of someone else, you never want to see it on the outside of them.” Will’s words are so haunting and broken; he’s lost his big brother, his hero, and now all he wants is to follow the rules – the rules that he’s been taught his whole life. The rules that say the only fair response to the wrongful death of a loved one… is revenge. Will knows his mission is probably going to leave him in the same state as his brother, but it’s all he’s equipped to do. It’s such a powerful metaphor for toxic masculinity and the ways in which it prevents boys and men from knowing how to cope with trauma in meaningful, productive ways – not through their own faults, but because they’re never been shown a better way. “Just remember, when you're walking in the nighttime, make sure the nighttime ain't walking into you.” My only complaint about this incredible little book, and the reason that I only gave it 4 stars, is that it was so short that it was incredibly difficult to connect to the story or characters. While the events were hard to stomach, things moved so quickly and with so little development or preamble that, by the time I felt attached to Will or his pain, I was turning the last few pages. I would’ve loved to have seen this story fleshed out a bit more; most of the pages have only 10-20 words printed on them, and I just think that, had this been written like most verse novels, where there was a solid paragraph or two per page, it would’ve carried the impact across so much better and would have meant that much more. That said, I still absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to see what Jason Reynolds releases next.

This is one of those books that grabs you in the beginning and won't let go. Will is outside his apartment with his best friend when a shooting occurs. From the time he was young, he has been taught what to do. If you hear shots, you "eat the pavement." After a few minutes, he stands up to see who the unlucky person is, only to discover it is his brother. Another thing he is taught is you never cry. He takes his mother back inside, where she numbs herself the way she always does. Finally, he goes to the room he shared with his brother. He looks through his brother's drawer until he finds the gun his brother has. He slides it under his pillow. The third rule of the code he has grown up with is you kill the person who killed your loved one. The next morning Will puts the gun in the back of his pants and gets on the elevator to take care of business. When the elevator stops on each floor, someone from his past gets on and talks with him, his uncle, his dad, and others. They each have advice for him. All of these are people who have died. The question we read to find an answer to is, on this long way down, would he listen to them? My heart broke for the character losing his brother the way he did. It broke even more, knowing that so many young people live this very life. I had a student many years ago who told me he had not done his homework because they had several drive-by shootings that night. He said his biggest fear was getting struck by a bullet while sitting in his room. This is a quick read since it is written in verse. I am not sure how I feel about the ending. If you want to know what I am referring to you need to read the book.

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

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. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A 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 cry 2. You don’t snitch 3. You seek revenge Will 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.”