Book Cover
Justification
I chose Long Way Down for my poetry selection for this blog. It has been highly awarded in the literary community. It was recognized by the Newbery, Printz, and Coretta Scott King award committees as an honor book. After researching previous winners and honor books for the Prinz award in my Prezi presentation, Long Way Down stood out to me. The book follows fifteen-year-old Will immediately following his older brother’s death during a drive by shooting. In Will’s world, life is black and white on violence. You don’t cry, you don’t snitch, and you get revenge. Most of the novel takes place in the span of just one minute as Will descends on the elevator to avenge his brother’s death.
Evaluation
The first element of excellent writing used in this novel was the design and layout. The title and cover art give us a clue as to what the book is going to be about. The colors that are used are almost exclusively black, white, and gray. In the background you can just make out a blurred reflection of Will in the elevator doors. This directly ties to the content of the text. This thoughtful use of design gives us as readers a deeper appreciation for the poetry within the novel. The pages of the books are not white like you would find in a typical book. They are streaked, to varying degrees, with gray markings. This adds to the mood of the text. It represents that not all things are black and white, but shades of gray. The structure of the poems themselves also adds an interesting element to the novel. Each poem is unique. The use of italics and regular typeface represents dialogue in the poem. Some poems are structured in different shapes to further convey meaning. Instead of having chapters, the book is largely segmented by the floors that Will passes on his elevator ride and are time stamped to show the passing of time. While the ride is short, the impact on Will is lasting.
Another element of high-quality writing that is clearly exhibited in this novel is the style and language that is used. Writing this story in verse made it feel more powerful. The structure of the poetry changed from poem to poem. At the beginning of the story Will thinks his world is black and white. A wrong has happened, and he must avenge that wrong himself. He must follow the rules taught to him by his father, who were taught to him by his father, and so on from generation to generation. Violence cannot go unanswered. Leading up to Will’s fateful elevator ride to seek out his brother’s killer, the shorter phrasing made everything feel very black and white, right and wrong, action and reaction. As the novel moves on, and Will enters the elevator with ghosts from his past the shorter phrasing of the poems made the words spoken by the characters feel punctuated and heavy, creating more weight to their messages. Each of the floors that he must pass to get to the lobby to act on his revenge brings a new ghost from Will’s past. All victims of gun violence. The dialogue and phrasing used in the poems to highlights the realities of gun violence and the toll that it is taking on this community.
Finally, the tension that is created through the novel is palpable. All the elements of the book culminate in the creation of this pull between two worlds. Will thinks he has no choice. His brother has been murdered, and as the last standing man of his household he must get revenge by killing his brother’s killer. These rules of the neighborhood are non-negotiable in Will’s mind. Even though he has never even held a gun and is terrified, he must follow the rules. As he decides to descend on the elevator down to the lobby to seek out his brother’s killer he is stopped at each floor along the way by a different ghost. The ghosts are members of Will’s family or community and have all been victims of gun violence. As each ghost enters the elevator with Will his sense of black and white becomes blurred. He is able to see a fuller picture of the aftermath that is created by following The Rules. The violence never ends. It remains cyclical and ultimately continues to hurt more people. As the elevator descends lower and lower through the building, the tension in Will’s world builds. He is trying to reconcile these two parts of his reality together. The Rules themselves and the wake of destruction that following them leaves on the community. The never-ending cycle of violence that only ends in sorrow.
Response
(C) Before reading this novel, I had never heard of The Rules. They don’t exist in the world that I grew up in, or the world that my family belongs to. My youngest son is named Will. As I read about the turmoil that our protagonist in the novel is facing, I can’t help but see that his reality is vastly different from the one that my Will is growing up in. The fact that there are communities that feel beholden to these rules of retaliation and violence devastates me. Violence begets more violence. The ghosts of this novel show that so clearly. (D) I admire Jason Reynolds for writing this novel. In the real world, ghosts are not appearing to boys heading out for revenge to give them pause about what they are about to do. But reading this novel may. The only way to break cycles of violence in a community is through education and understanding. Books like this one are so important to that effort. (F) Everything about this novel was beautifully and heartbreakingly well done. All the elements of the novel creating this mood and sense of foreboding. From the cover art, to the structure of the poems, to the title, to the time stamping of the elevator ride, and ending in the final question “You coming?” (Reynolds, 2017, p. 306). It all masterfully tied together to create a feeling of a push and pull between two realities. I was glued to this novel. So much so that I read it in one sitting.
Conclusion
It is no surprise why the literary community has cheered Jason Reynolds as an exceptional author. Long Way Down is a novel that will stick with me for some time. It is an important book to understand what life is like in some communities. That there is a sense of duty in avenging your loved one’s death. Justice is yours for the taking. But this novel underscores the aftermath of following these rules that ultimately leave you the victim of gun violence yourself, in prison, or completely hollowed out inside. Deeply moving and profound this book is a must-read for high school students and older.
APA Citation
Reynolds, J. (2017). Long way down. New York: Atheneum.
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