Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (#74 in 2020)
Will's brother gets shot, and Will knows the rule - get revenge. When Will steps onto the elevator with a gun in the waistband of his pants, he encounters the ghosts of the past on his long way down to the lobby...
HOLY CREATIVE! Jason Reynolds blew me away with this book. Not only is it entirely written in verse, which is a style I love, but the chapters are in descending order to mimic Will's journey down the elevator from the 7th floor down to the lobby. At each floor, a new ghost from Will's past joins him to teach him a lesson, all of which connect back to Will's plan to go murder the boy he thinks is his brother's killer. The entire supernatural experience takes place from 9:08:02 a.m. - 9:09:09 a.m., but it seems like Will lives multiple lifetimes during the 1 minute and 7 second elevator ride. I love how the ghosts of Will's departed family and friends don't tell him what he should or shouldn't do, but they give him an insight into the repercussions for the actions he plans to execute.
This is a must read. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Long Way Down is remarkably written and should absolutely be a required reading for students. I feel like I keep finding all these new amazing YA books and I'm not sure how to fit them all into my curriculum without neglecting every other obligation I have... but I'm destined to include this one as a read aloud for my students next year.
What I also loved was Jason's bio on the inside cover. It reads, "Jason Reynolds is also tired. Of being around young people who are tired of feeling invisible. So he writes books (a bunch of books) and has even won some awards, but none of them are as important as a young person saying they feel seen. The more that happens, the less tired Jason is."
That spoke volumes about his intentions as a writer.
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