Long Way Down

Author and Illustrator: Jason Reynolds
Genre: Fiction
Awards: National Book Award Finalist
Grade Level:10- Young Adult

Rules. Violence. Death. Revenge. Repeat.
Shawn was Will's brother. They grew up together in a dangerous neighborhood; ran by inherited bad business and rules. Shawn was shot, dead. Just like his friends and family, Will was well aware of the deaths caused by gun violence in his neighborhood; however, everyone acts invisible. Against his nature, Will decides to follow the rules, find his brother's murder, and get his revenge. Will gets Shawn's gun, tucks it in his pants, and makes his way to the elevator. Will makes his way down the elevator to the lobby. As he reaches the next floor, he is visited by past relationships including friendships and all. As each visitor comes and goes, Will gains insight to Shawn's murder. Will also gains perspective and the realization of what will happen if he decides to carry out his revenge. Will fearfully hears from these ghost, and in turn these ghost help will make his decision. 

This book is an amazing read even though I heard it. This book is written in poetry; prose. The author has many points to get across to his readers; he wants to reveal truth, a broken cycle, and relevance of how your decisions impact your life forever. The author writes with such beauty, the reader is captivated by the novel. I would not have this book in my classroom since it is not age appropriate. I do encourage high school educators to have this book in  their classroom, or suggest it to their students. This book would be very beneficial to an array of students. Educators could use this book in their classroom to have students write a report on it, or have a book club.