Monday, October 16, 2017

Book Review: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

A short, powerful book written in narrative verse, Long Way Down will get you thinking.

Will is fifteen years old and his older brother, Shawn, has just been murdered. He's following the rules his brother taught him: No crying, No snitching, and Get revenge.

He puts his brother's gun in the back of his jeans and gets on the elevator.  As it stops on each floor, Will is visited by ghosts from the past.  The guy who gave Shawn the gun and a girl who was shot on the playground when they were young, among others. So what is Will going to do when he gets to the bottom floor?

First of all, I need to see the real book.  My eARC was weirdly formatted.  A lot of Ts and Fs and some other letters were left out of random words. It made it a bit difficult to read, and I think some of the visual effects were lost.

The book speaks to the need for vengeance in a realistic way. It was a powerful message that may be important for young people today. I think the format may turn some kids off, unfortunately, because Long Way Down is really easy to understand. Teens who like edgy contemporary books or those written in verse will want to experience Long Way Down.

Published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy, October 24, 2017
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
320 pages

Rating: 4/5





Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2017 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

3 comments:

  1. I have to admit that I was surprised to learn that his latest is written in verse, but I think the content of the book and his popularity will get this book circulating. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like Jason Reynolds' books and a quick read in verse might be just the thing for me right now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ooooh, this one sounds really good. I like books in verse, so I'm definitely going to check this one out.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting! I LOVE comments!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...