“Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds was published in 2017. It is a book filled with different emotions that leaves readers stressed and panicked and is filled with cliffhangers. It talks about the serious problems of gun violence. Will, a fifteen-year-old, is the main character in this story. He and his family live in a highly dangerous area where gun violence runs rampant. The book begins with the tragic loss of Will’s older brother from gun violence. It left Will and everybody else devastated and full of confusion. The three main rules readers should stay aware of throughout the whole book are, don’t cry, don’t snitch and take revenge.
Throughout the whole book, Will follows the three rules. He makes sure to never cry or snitch, no matter what. He decides to take revenge on whoever killed his older brother. Will makes the decision that he’s going to find out who killed his older brother and finds a gun to take action. On his way to his task, he steps into an elevator. Will’s emotions change a lot throughout each chapter and it starts getting more intense the longer you read it. It’s like never-ending questions and concerns that will make readers question why Will is seeing visions and old memories. Each floor has a different character and every person has a different story.
The elevator is where each scene takes action. Will starts dealing with seeing people and visions from his past that aren’t alive and no longer exist. He holds long conversations with each person and ends with pure confusion within every single one. The entire book is a span of 60 seconds which leaves readers confused and wondering and makes you question yourself a whole lot,you question yourself if it’s all just a dream and if the story stops there. Readers will try to go into Will’s perspective but won’t seem to find out.
The author of this book, Jason Reynolds, has a unique style of writing by making readers feel like you’re in the elevator yourself, and he uses imagery and sets a realistic theme to each scene. This book is a must-read for everyone and anyone and it should be more noticed since it talks about the serious problems of gun violence.
