Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down is a Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor winner, and Printz honor book told in poetic narrative verse; and derivative of a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. To illustrate, the story is about a 15-year-old named Will who is seeking revenge for the killing of his brother Shawn. On his way to kill the person he thinks killed his brother, he talks to his father, brother, uncle, and friends who are ghosts. They warn him of his dangerous mission and try to dissuade him from going through with his revenge by telling him stories of revenge and violence that led to their deaths. Kirkus Reviews perfectly summarizes these moments in that "Will realizes how much of his own story has been unknown to him and how intricately woven they are." ("After fifteen-year-old," 2017)

Critical Analysis

Long Way Down is written in the first person, and the plot is easy to follow if the reader understands the characters in the elevator, other than the protagonist, are ghosts. The ghosts care about Will, which makes this less about a supernatural event and more about the expression of love for one's family and friends. The story's themes include revenge, family, cycles of violence, and loyalty. Readers who enjoyed this book may like Bang! By Sharon G. Flake, which examines similar aspects of inner-city life.

The Strength of this book is its examination of violence in inner-city life and cycles of violence. For example, Will follows a set of rules handed down to him through generations that state that he must take revenge. The book's weakness is that it is derivative of other works like A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Audiobook Details

This review was created using the unabridged version using the Axis 360 application. The length of the story is 1 hour and 43 minutes. The narrator is Jason Reynolds, whose performance was powerful and engaging. After the story, Reynolds says that his story is a mix of A Christmas Carol and the Boys in the Hood movie. Interestingly, he says that he had spent a lot of time in juvenile detention centers and that many of the children there were there because of similar cycles of violence. These cycles of violence had come about because of things like someone stealing someone's shoes over 40 years ago. Something that occurred but that the newer generation can no longer remember.

References

"After 15-year-old." (2017, October 17). Long Way Down. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jason-reynolds/long-way-down-reynolds/

Reynolds, J. (2017). Long Way Down. (J. Reynolds, Narr.) [Audiobook] Simon & Schuster Audio. https://bpls.axis360.baker-taylor.com/Title?itemId=0020477012&ISBN=9781508241584&isRecommendable=false&collectionType=null