Long Way Down

Poetry

Image:

"I know you're young,

gotta get it out,

but just remember, when

you're walking in the nighttime,

make sure the nighttime

ain't walking into you." (p.40)

Justification: I primarily selected this book for its numerous accolades. Long Way Down won both the Newbery medal and the Coretta Scott King awards in 2018 as well as a Printz Honor award. It was also an Edgar award winner for best young adult fiction. I was excited to read a young adult novel in free verse. After the The Poet X, this is only my second reading of YA novel in verse. Based on this reading, I hope to incorporate more in my repertoire.

Reader's Response: The book sucks you in and doesn't let go. It's a novel of verse that could easily be read in one sitting. I had to read it twice to really let it sink it. It's heavy. It's deep. It warrants a closer look. Let's dig in!

Fifteen year old William Holloman is mourning the death of his older brother Shawn, who was gunned down in the street. The reader learns right away that there are Rules (with a capital R) of the street. There are three of them and they are hard and fast:

1) Don't cry

2) Don't snitch

3) Get revenge.

Will tells us, "Another thing about the rules. They weren't meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken." (p.35) The Rules are also a rite of passage. They have been passed down through generations. In this case, grandfather told uncle told father told son told brother. Will is that brother.

Will suspects Carlson Riggs, a gang member of the Dark Suns is Shawn's killer. Interestingly enough, Will describes Carlson to us on page 50, "He was known around here for being as loud as police sirens but as soft as his first name." This doesn't sound like the description of a cold-blooded killer, but Will seems sure. He vows revenge. An eye for an eye. A bullet for a bullet. A life for a life. Will discovers a gun with fifteen bullets in it in Shawn's middle bureau drawer. A bullet for each year of his life. He's never even held a gun before, felt its heft, it's weighty intentions weighing heaving upon him. Will compares holding the gun to holding his brother's hand; he compares it to a baby, and to a brick. The gun is completely foreign to him. He does not know what to do and yet he knows what he needs to do: the follow the Rules.

In a superb Dickensian twist, instead of being visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, Will is visited by the ghosts of relatives and friends who have been gunned down in senseless violence. The voices of the dead, as well as their semblances accompany him down what seems like the longest elevator ride of his life, but the journey itself amounts to no more than 60 seconds. To Will, it seems like a lifetime. We learn in this long way down that several of Will's family members have accidentally killed the wrong person when seeking their vengeance. Reynolds compares the elevator to a "vertical coffin": Will feels trapped, held hostage by his uncle, father, brother, school yard friend and some of their killers.

Although I have no personal connection to having lost someone to gun violence, Reynolds

paints a picture that allows the reader to clearly empathize with Will. We feel what he is feeling. We are distraught. Will is clearly suffering from survivors guilt and we feel his loss and his pain. We also feel his fear. Fear is the primary motivator behind all of the murders we uncover in this free verse text. Black men are killing Black men and they're pulling the trigger because they are scared. It's their fear that empowers them to shoot. Reynolds's social commentary is overt and the story is brilliantly conceived. Will is in a precarious place where he feels compelled to avenge his brother's death. But is he certain Carlson Riggs is Shawn's killer? Does he know what he's doing? Will the voices of the dead who visit him compel him to think again?

Conclusion: This story is really compelling. It is also one of the most creative pieces of YA fiction I have ever read. Writing the story in free verse lends itself to a beautiful syncopation. The beat moves you, propels you forward and the storyline is both powerful and gripping. I would recommend it to any young adult reader. I even think it would be suitable for grades 6 and up. Jason Reynolds has written many popular young adult novels and I would like to read them as well.

APA Reference: Reynolds, J. (2017). Long Way Down. New York, NY: Atheneum.