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.

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.”

My son, who is a junior in college, told me about this book. It was one of about 15 he had to read for a class. When he first told me it was poetry, I told him that poetry isn’t really my favorite. He insisted that I read it and then let him know what I thought!Written in verse, Jason Reynolds, does a fantastic job telling the story of Will and how “The Rules” have to be followed after his brother Shawn gets shot. Will wakes up the next morning, grabs the pistol that Shawn had stashed and is determined to get the guy that killed Shawn! However he encounters some people in the elevator that make him question everything.This is a very quick read. While marketed for young adults, it should be a read for adults as well.

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.

Jason Reynolds is one of the greatest writers of not just YA, but any books on the market today. This is his masterpiece. Incredible book.