Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds Told in verse Long Way Down is the story of Will, a fifteen-year-old boy who just lost his brother, Shawn, in a shooting. His mother is in mourning and he is convinced he needs to follow the rules and go after the guy he knows killed Shawn. Grabbing the gun his brother hid in the middle dresser drawer, Will leaves his apartment and takes the most important elevator ride of his life. This book speaks to a certain mentality. A hood mentality. It’s one of the rules in this book, get revenge. The problem with getting revenge is that the cycle never stops. That’s the lesson Will hasn’t learned yet. It’s the lesson all the people that join him in the elevator are trying to teach him. Reynolds laid this theme out so succinctly, never wasting a word, a moment, a page. Not a lot of world building goes into an elevator, yet and still I was in that elevator with Will and quite a bit happens. It’s an incredible and chilling ride, laced with a truth s