Long Way Down
"An intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger." --Booklist (starred review)
"Astonishing." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A tour de force." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
A Printz Honor Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award
An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction
Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner
An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2017
A Vulture Best YA Book of 2017
A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017 An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds's electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds--the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he's going to murder the guy who killed his brother. A cannon. A strap.
A piece. A biscuit.
A burner. A heater.
A chopper. A gat.
A hammer
A tool
for RULE Or, you can call it a gun. That's what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that's when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn's gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn't know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck's in the elevator? Just as Will's trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck's cigarette. Will doesn't know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END...if Will gets off that elevator. 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.
"Astonishing." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A tour de force." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
A Printz Honor Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award
An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction
Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner
An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2017
A Vulture Best YA Book of 2017
A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017 An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds's electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds--the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he's going to murder the guy who killed his brother. A cannon. A strap.
A piece. A biscuit.
A burner. A heater.
A chopper. A gat.
A hammer
A tool
for RULE Or, you can call it a gun. That's what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That's where Will's now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother's gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he's after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that's when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn's gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn't know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck's in the elevator? Just as Will's trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck's cigarette. Will doesn't know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END...if Will gets off that elevator. 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.
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Community Reviews
What I love is the author made Will and us think. Set in an urban setting. A profound story in an urban setting, depicting life and the three rules:
No. 1: No Crying - Donât. No matter what. Donât.
No. 2: Snitching - Donât. No matter what. Donât.
No. 3: Revenge - if someone you love gets killed, find a person who killed them and get revenge.
Williamâs entire world changes in one night when his brother Sean gets shot.
The rules werenât meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow.
Will know the rules. He knows what he has to do. He goes to take the elevator down to exact his revenge on the person who Will believes shot Shawn. While in the elevator, he encounters a person from his life. Each person's tale affects him as he descends onto the next floor, all the way to the lobby.
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Graphic: 5/5
No. 1: No Crying - Donât. No matter what. Donât.
No. 2: Snitching - Donât. No matter what. Donât.
No. 3: Revenge - if someone you love gets killed, find a person who killed them and get revenge.
Williamâs entire world changes in one night when his brother Sean gets shot.
The rules werenât meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow.
Will know the rules. He knows what he has to do. He goes to take the elevator down to exact his revenge on the person who Will believes shot Shawn. While in the elevator, he encounters a person from his life. Each person's tale affects him as he descends onto the next floor, all the way to the lobby.
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Graphic: 5/5
Whoa. What a book. All told in verse, all told in a single elevator ride. Moving, powerful, an impressive example of storytelling.
Impactful story told in prose.
No Crying
No Snitching
Get revenge
But when does the cycle end? This was a resounding read that I am never to forget.
If you are able to do the audible, I highly recommend. Jason Reynolds himself narrates, and has an exclusive interview at the end.
I don't want to spoil much, but this is short yet filled with so much, and a must read for everyone.
No Crying
No Snitching
Get revenge
But when does the cycle end? This was a resounding read that I am never to forget.
If you are able to do the audible, I highly recommend. Jason Reynolds himself narrates, and has an exclusive interview at the end.
I don't want to spoil much, but this is short yet filled with so much, and a must read for everyone.
What a short yet powerful book! I was caught up in the grief and the cycle of misplaced ownership and violence that permeated this family and this neighborhood.
wow. what an incredible book. I was good emotionally until the ending and then the last 2 words made me burst out crying in my car. Great book. Highly recommend the audio book
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