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Long Way Down Paperback – July 25, 2018

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 7,534 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award nominee
See all formats and editions
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AND THEN THERE WERE SHOTS
Everybody
ran,
ducked,
hid, tucked
themselves tight.

Pressed our lips to the
pavement and prayed
the boom, followed by
the buzz of a bullet,
didn't meet us.

After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he's doing.

This haunting, lyrical, powerful verse novel will blow you away.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    322 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Faber & Faber
  4. Publication date
    July 25, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    5.08 x 0.79 x 7.8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0571335128
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0571335121
  8. See all details
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Popular Highlights in this book
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Previous page
  1. ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE RULES They weren’t meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow.
    Highlighted by 1,068 Kindle readers
  2. AND YOU KNOW it’s weird to know a person you don’t know and at the same time not know a person you know, you know?
    Highlighted by 503 Kindle readers
  3. IN CASE YOU AIN’T KNOW, gunshots make everybody deaf and blind especially when they make somebody dead.
    Highlighted by 479 Kindle readers
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Faber & Faber (July 25, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0571335128
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0571335121
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.79 x 7.8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 7,534 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Jason Reynolds

Jason Reynolds

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

The first name bits:

What Jason knows is that there are a lot — A LOT — of people, young, old, and in-between, who hate reading. He knows that many of these book haters are boys. He knows that many of these book-hating boys, don't actually hate books, they hate boredom. If you are reading this, and you happen to be one of these boys, first of all, you're reading this Jason's master plan is already working (muahahahahahaha) and second of all, know that Jason totally feels you. He REALLY does. Because even though he's a writer, he hates reading boring books too.

So here's what he plans to do: NOT WRITE BORING BOOKS.

That's it, and that's all.

Now, for the last name bits:

Jason Reynolds is an award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. Jason’s many books include Miles Morales: Spider Man, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Correta Scott King Honor, and Look Both Ways, which was a National Book Award Finalist. His latest book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, is a collaboration with Ibram X. Kendi. Recently named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason has appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and CBS This Morning. He is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program and lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
7,534 global ratings
The cover was poorly attached to spine
3 Stars
The cover was poorly attached to spine
The book was not in good condition when delivered. Opened the cover and as you can see, the cover is barely hanging on. This book was supposed to be from my brother as a gift now I have to purchase super glue because the publisher don’t know how to properly put a book together
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Top reviews from the United States

AKCunningham
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024
Verified Purchase
I read this in school with my students. They love the story, and it's great for teaching poetry. They can understand the poetic devices better since they can understand the poems.
One person found this helpful
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Jacob Hasson
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2024
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This book is a must read, a beautifully told story. I finished it so quickly, and want to reread it already. Wonderful!
One person found this helpful
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NK
5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING BOOK
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
I read this for school, and it is by far one of the greatest books I've ever read. Totally not boring and there's so many words and details on each page. I loved the unique formatting of this book! #blacklivesmatter
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Destiny B.
4.0 out of 5 stars ” I’ve always loved stories written in verse
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
“ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE RULES:
They weren't meant to be broken.
They were meant for the broken to follow.”

I’ve always loved stories written in verse, so when I heard about this own-voice tale of the struggles that toxic masculinity and systemic racism place upon young black men, I was immediately interested. I wanted to focus on supporting as many new-to-me black authors as possible in February, and Jason Reynolds was at the very top of my list. This man has a writing voice that absolutely needs to be heard.

“But if the blood inside you is on the inside of someone else,
you never want to see it on the outside of them.”

Will’s words are so haunting and broken; he’s lost his big brother, his hero, and now all he wants is to follow the rules – the rules that he’s been taught his whole life. The rules that say the only fair response to the wrongful death of a loved one… is revenge. Will knows his mission is probably going to leave him in the same state as his brother, but it’s all he’s equipped to do. It’s such a powerful metaphor for toxic masculinity and the ways in which it prevents boys and men from knowing how to cope with trauma in meaningful, productive ways – not through their own faults, but because they’re never been shown a better way.

“Just remember, when
you're walking in the nighttime,
make sure the nighttime
ain't walking into you.”

My only complaint about this incredible little book, and the reason that I only gave it 4 stars, is that it was so short that it was incredibly difficult to connect to the story or characters. While the events were hard to stomach, things moved so quickly and with so little development or preamble that, by the time I felt attached to Will or his pain, I was turning the last few pages. I would’ve loved to have seen this story fleshed out a bit more; most of the pages have only 10-20 words printed on them, and I just think that, had this been written like most verse novels, where there was a solid paragraph or two per page, it would’ve carried the impact across so much better and would have meant that much more. That said, I still absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to see what Jason Reynolds releases next.
One person found this helpful
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Good is good
5.0 out of 5 stars This is genius
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024
Verified Purchase
I would have treasured this book when I was young. It would be incredibly powerful and meaningful to any struggling teen.
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Suad
5.0 out of 5 stars Must. Read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
There is no fitting way that I can think of to describe a book of this caliber. I cannot even admit that I have completely understood the full magnitude that this story carries.

Long Way Down takes place in a span of one minute.

Sixty seconds.

It is set in an elevator, in which a young, angry boy gets on and begins his long journey down.

7
6
5
4
3
2
1

A moment.
An instant. That is all it takes. An elevator ride down, seven floors.

In one minute, Jason Reynolds changes your perception of everything.
In that one minute, you are blindsided.
In that one minute, he leaves you reeling.

In a single minute, the book outlines the life of this young man, Will, the day after his brother, Shawn, was found shot dead. Will knows the rules. He lives by the rules.

1. You don’t cry
2. You don’t snitch
3. You seek revenge

Will is absolutely certain he knows the man behind the murder, and he is out for vengeance. After a long sleepless night, he wakes up knowing exactly how his day is going to go. He finds his brother’s gun and leaves the house with the intention of going after the person responsible for his brother’s death. He steps onto the elevator, but it keeps stopping at every floor, forcing Will to confront his fears, his doubts and most importantly, his beliefs.

Long Way Down is written in verse-form, and although this style is usually not my preferred style, Jason Reynolds set a completely new standard with his writing, eloquence and articulation. He manages to deliver clear, distinct and important messages with just a few words. In fact, the book will not take you more than 30 minutes to read, but the impact left afterwards is powerful and long lasting. In an interview I read, Jason Reynolds says:

“I need my young brothers who are living in these environments, and the kids who are not living in these environments to have no excuses not to read the book. The truth of the matter is that I recognize that I write prose, and I love prose, and I want everybody to read prose, but I would never, sort of, deny the fact that like, literacy in America is not the highest, especially amongst young men, and especially amongst young men of color. It's something that we've all been working very hard on, and my job is not to critique or judge that. My job is to do something to help that, and to know you can finish this in 45 minutes means the world to me, so that we can get more young people reading it and thinking and then having discussions on what this book is actually about.”

He also explains that he set the story in an elevator, because he wanted to mimic the feelings of anger, pain and helplessness. To him, these feel claustrophobic, like you are wound up tight.

“It feels like tightness and coldness, steel, jagged movements and vertigo. All the things that an elevator brings, is what it feels like to be that angry.”

One of the reasons Reynolds was able to convey these feelings so accurately was because of his own past experiences struggling with those same feelings of anger and pain when his best friend was killed, and his first impulse was to end the life of the person responsible. He also wanted to change the perception that people who commit these crimes are fearless or without emotion.

“The truth is that everyone who has ever been around anyone who has been in these environments knows that the people who pull the triggers are terrified.”

Long Way Down really pushes boundaries, questions your thoughts and beliefs and does not shy away from treading on important topics, such as race and gun violence. Getting a glimpse, albeit a very brief one, of Reynolds’ way of thinking makes you look at things differently and go, “Ahh, yes. I see now.”
146 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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jm1632
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in Canada on April 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
Good
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Best poetry book I've ever read
Reviewed in Brazil on March 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is perfection, everything is extremely well done from the narrative to the page design, after reading this you will definitely see some changes in your point of view when it comes to the discussions brought up by the author.
As expected 10/10 would recommend
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DG
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo
Reviewed in Italy on April 6, 2024
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Ottimo
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Customer X
5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading experience
Reviewed in Germany on November 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Loved the language and the story, the author found a fresh and appealing way of dealing with the topic of youth violence
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Cheerioh
4.0 out of 5 stars l'histoire est forte, la poésie la porte parfois mais elle manque de rythme
Reviewed in France on August 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
J'ai du mal avec la poésie sans rythme. Ici la forme soutient parfois la pensée mais c'est très artificiel. Par exemple si je prenais mon commentaire et que je le détachais en vers, ça donnerait pareil et ça n'a pas toujours grand intérêt.

L'histoire par contre est plus intéressante. On suit notre protagoniste, dans sa tête, qui souhaite venger la mort de son frère, tué par balle dans contexte de règlement de compte entre gangs de rue. Il suit les Règles comme son frère, comme son père. Il prend l'ascenseur et à chaque étage, quelqu'un rentre.

L'occasion est ici donnée d'explorer ces règles de la rue, la transmission, la vengeance...

Apparemment l'histoire n'avait pas été conçue sous forme poétique. Pourquoi pas. En tout cas on le sent bien. Parfois ça fonctionne et d'autres fois pas. Pas à voix haute en tout cas. C'est un peu le défaut du récit.

J'ai quand même bien aimé globalement, le personnage est sympathique et on espère qu'il fera le bon choix.
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