Long Way Down is a young adult novel in verse by Jason Reynolds, published October 24, 2017, by Atheneum Books.

As I have already mentioned, this book is a quick read, but the emotional impact it has, is phenomenal.

Kirkus, [5] Publishers Weekly, [13] the New York Public Library, [14] the Chicago Public Library, [15] Entertainment Weekly, [16] Vulture, [17] Paste, [18] Buzzfeed, [19] Horn Book, [20] and School Library Journal [21] named Long Way Down one of the best young adult books of the year. Jason Reynolds' extraordinary Long Way Down follows Will, a 15-year-old boy out for revenge after his older brother is shot dead. An IMPORTANT book that will let children know this is not true as far as Jason Reynolds is concerned . That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. Striking ink-and-watercolour illustrations bring the setting to life, while the comic-book layout adds pace and urgency to the narrative.

The main idea of Long Way Down is to understand Will's dilemma and rationale for wanting to seek revenge on his brother's killer.After finding his brother's gun, he explores this dilemma in the long elevator ride down from their eighth-floor apartment. Jason's skill at putting words together that grab your heart and head, bringing you into the lives of his characters, kids just trying their best to do what's right and live the way they've been taught, astounds me. Next onto the elevator is the man Will has been waiting for since he was three years old: Mikey Holloman, Will's father. Things take a strange turn when on each floor, a murdered soul from Will’s past life enters the elevator, each sharing the story of their death.

Jason’s many works of fiction include When I Was the Greatest, Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave As You, For Every One, Miles Morales: Spider Man, the Run series ( Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), and Long Way Down, which received both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor. You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods. Your selection was perfect for our children and what really made the difference was your ability to engage with each child, discuss their interests and help them to choose a suitable book based on your extensive knowledge of the books you were selling. I downloaded this intending on possibly getting to it sometime, but I opened it up out of curiosity and ended up reading the entire thing in about an hour.Our main character believes that he must uphold justice for his brothers death, by killing his killer. Will is determined to honor the memory of his brother and thus feels compelled to seek revenge for Shawn's death by killing his murderer, but at the same time, he is nervous and uncertain about the gravity of his future actions. Most of the ghosts' stories revolve around that third rule, wherein one person died because they killed someone who killed someone connected to their family, creating a continuous cycle of hurt. I did enjoy the way the author narrates the audiobook, but it was too fast for me to get attached to the story or the characters.