Long Way Down

Reynolds, J. (Author/Narrator). (2017). Long way down. New York: Simon & Schuster Audio. ISBN: 9781508241607

Genre: Fantasy / Format: Audiobook / Novel in verse

Awards: Newbery Medal Nominee (2018), National Book Award Nominee for Young People’s Literature (2017), Odyssey Award Nominee (2018), Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature (2017), Edgar Award for Best Young Adult (2018), Michael L. Printz Award Nominee (2018), South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult (2020), Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award for Young Adult (2019), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2019), Evergreen Teen Book Award Nominee for Middle School (2020), Coretta Scott King Book Award Nominee for Author Honor (2018), Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee (2018), Lincoln Award Nominee (2020), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Poetry (2017), Carnegie Medal Nominee (2019), NAACP Image Award Nominee for Youth/Teens (2018)

Reading level: Lexile 720 (source: teachingbooks.net)

Interest Level: Grades 7-12 (source: Booklist Online)

Plot Summary: This story is told by Will, who explains the set up for the story in his introduction: his older brother Shawn was shot and killed the night before while running an errand for their mother. Will is devastated, but knows he has to follow the Rules: don’t cry, don’t snitch, get revenge. The morning after, he takes Shawn’s gun from his room, and goes to find the boy he is certain did it. The story proper begins as Will enters the elevator on the seventh floor of his building, and ends sixty seconds later, when the elevator reaches the ground floor. As the elevator descends, it stops at each level, and a ghost gets on to join Will. First, on the sixth level, is Buck, Shawn’s friend. Then Dani, his childhood playmate. Then Will’s uncle. Then his father. Then Frick, the boy who killed Buck, who then was killed by Shawn. Last of all, Will is joined by Shawn’s ghost, one floor before the ground. The ghosts talks to Will and to each other, revealing the series of events, the causes and effects of violence, that lead to each of them being shot. The story ends as Will is about to leave the elevator, no longer sure of what he should do.

Author Background: Jason Reynolds is one of the recent luminaries of YA and middle-grade literature. He’s written collaboratively (the novel All-American Boys with Brendan Keily and the nonfiction Stamped with Ibram X. Kendi) as well as solo novels in both prose and verse. His works have won multiple awards including the Kirkus Prize, the Printz and Newberry Honors, and a handful of Coretta Scott King Book Award honors. His most recent book is a middle-grade collection of interconnected short stories, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks.

Reynolds is the 2020-2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s literature, an advocacy position appointed by the Library of Congress. As National Ambassador, his platform, “GRAB THE MIC: tell your story,” encourages young people to find their own voices. During the spring of this pandemic year, while schools were closed and students sheltering in place, he created a series of videos with writing prompts and suggestions, with the theme “Write. Right. Rite.”

Critical Evaluation: This is not my favorite of Jason Reynold’s works that I’ve read (that would be As Brave as You, which is not nearly as popular with students, but is lovely and layered and thoughtful and about family and memory and becoming yourself). However, it’s easy to understand why this won so many awards. It’s viscerally powerful—both in its conception, as a story that takes place within a few moments in which ghost voices reveal the cycle of violence that doomed them all, and in its format, a novel in verse rich with repetition and layered imagery. Jason Reynold’s explains in his afterwards why he chose to read the book himself for the audio production: he felt that, as the poet, he had a particular idea of how he wanted the words and rhythms to sound. He is certainly a beautiful reader, and the words are clear and resonant in his voice. I always wonder, when I’m listening to an audiobook in verse, what I’m missing in terms of not seeing the words on the page, being able to linger over a particularly powerful turn of phrase or image. That said, this is as good an audio version of a verse novel as you could hope for.

Creative Use for Library Program: This would be a great option to include in a book promotion or themed presentation of book talks on books in verse. I would also love to do teen events that include some of Reynold’s video prompts from his “Write. Right. Rite.” series, and I could include a list of recommended books by him as part of the wrap up for the event.

Book Talk: 9:08 am. 15-year-old Will steps into an elevator on the seventh floor of his building, with a gun in his hand, sure that he has to kill the boy who shot his brother. By 9:09 am, the elevator has reached the lobby. In between, as the elevator stops on each floor, the door opens, and a ghost from Will’s past emerges, someone whose death played some part in bringing him to this moment. Will doesn’t understand what’s going on, and doesn’t know what to believe, but as the ghosts talk to him and fill in pieces of the story of his brother’s life and death, he starts to realize he may not be so certain about what he knows—what should he do, and what will happen if he uses the gun?

Potential Challenges and Defense: Like graphic novels, audiobooks can come under fire as “not real books.” However, audiobooks have a host of benefits, particularly for engaging struggling readers and supporting those with learning differences like dyslexia. I would point that out to any patron who complained about my promoting audiobooks options. I would also add that audiobooks aren’t for everyone, and we also have the print copy, if people would prefer that.

Why did I include this book? I would feel remiss if I didn’t include a book by Jason Reynolds in this collection—I think that he’s one of the current greats. I also had been meaning to read Long Way  Down for a while, and the fact that audio version was read by the author and nominated for an Odyssey Award made me choose that option.

References:

Goodreads (n.d.). Long way down [Webpage]. Retrieved from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39329770-long-way-down

Library of Congress (2020). Jayson Reynolds, national ambassador for young people’s literature [Webpage]. Retrieved from: https://guides.loc.gov/jason-reynolds

Reynolds. J. (n.d.). https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com/ [Website].

Saricks, J. (2018, April 19). Long way down [Review]. Booklist Online. Retrieved from: https://www.booklistonline.com/Long-Way-Down-/pid=9532387

TeachingBooks.net (2020). Literary text complexity measures for long way down by Jason Reynolds [Webpage]. Retrieved from: https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tcid=55296