Long Way Down

Starred review from July 31, 2017
Will, 15, is following his neighborhood’s well-established rules—don’t cry, don’t snitch, but do get revenge “if someone you love/ gets killed”—when he leaves his apartment, intent on killing whoever murdered his older brother, Shawn. He’s emboldened by the gun tucked into his waistband: “I put my hand behind my back/ felt the imprint/ of the piece, like/ another piece/ of me/ an extra vertebra,/ some more/ backbone.” As Will makes his way to the ground floor of his building, the elevator stops to accept passengers, each an important figure from his past, all victims of gun violence. Are these ghosts? Or is it Will’s subconscious at work, forcing him to think about what he intends to do and what it will accomplish? The story unfolds in the time it takes for the elevator to descend, and it ends with a two-word question that hits like a punch to the gut. Written entirely in spare verse, this is a tour de force from a writer who continues to demonstrate his skill as an exceptionally perceptive chronicler of what it means to be a black teen in America. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties.

This novel in verse, made to be read aloud, makes a compelling case for gun control. Its potency is increased by the narration of author Jason Reynolds, which buoys listeners through the intense linked stories. Three poems into Will Holloman's first-person narrative, one learns about his brother. Shawn is funny, tells stupid jokes, and "was shot . . . and killed." Reynolds excels at delivering dramatic pauses in the short poems, which are packed with sensory details and emotions that anchor listeners even as they stun with painful beauty. Will enters a mystical elevator, a gun sticking out of his pants like a "steel tail," his grief mixed with a desire for vengeance. As if the raw poignancy isn't enough, Reynolds's rich voice transports listeners to a strange reality in which Will is transformed by those from his past who have been killed by the very kind of violent act he is contemplating. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine