Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

A serendipitous saunter through libraries or bookstores to catch what calls out to me is not only a wild ride, it also connects me with talented, unforgettable authors I might otherwise miss. One Young Adult novelist snagged through my methods was Jason Reynolds’s New York Times Bestseller, Long Way Down.

As a finicky fiction reader, literature must grab my attention from the opening words. Reynolds knocks first lines for a six with sentences that draw me (and readers) in to divulge a secret.

No chapter title.

No preamble.

And no standard format:

“Don’t nobody believe nothing these days which is why I haven’t told nobody the story I’m about to tell you. And the truth is, you probably ain’t gon’ believe it either gon’ think I’m lying or I’m losing it, but I’m telling you, this story is true. It happened to me. Really. It did. It so did.”

That selection, the entirety of page one, throws up an easy engagement dare to keep you going.

I like that. Stakes right up front.

And there’s no dilly-dallying around after turning that first page. Details are laid out with backstory across two pages in less than 95 words. Told in first person from the point of view of the main character William “Will” Holloman, story momentum speeds from 0 to 60 mph in seconds since he tells us about his mom and then his older brother Shawn who had been shot dead two days ago.

A summary ‘teaser’ on the book’s back cover tips the story plot into overdrive:

“If someone you love gets killed, find the person who killed them and kill them. No crying. No snitching. Get revenge.”

A 15-year-old Will sneaks out to do exactly that with a gun he knew better than to touch while his brother drew breath. But everything changes after he steps into the elevator of his building and is mid-transit to the ground floor. People arrive from other floors and have curious conversations with Will, but he easily becomes my favorite character. It is his undeniable sensitivity and clarity of unfiltered thought under a veneer of bravado that most resonated with ‘long-ago’ teen me.

The journey I agreed to take after turning successive pages led from reality to surreality, a held mastery so seamless, that I had to go back and enjoy it again and again.

The author’s way of slipping lessons throughout the text without paragraph tedium is a skill that evidently draws a reading crowd. It certainly moved me.

Appeal.

It’s the light in eyes teachers want to see in classrooms because once on, there’s no turning it off again.

When Reynolds introduces the concept of anagrams to the storyline, it’s a nonchalant detail Will mentions about the wall in he and his brother’s bedroom. But Will’s anagram fascination threads a theme throughout as an off-kilter consistent story placemark, anchoring the reader to try it, thereby offering connectivity in a book with no chapters or headings. Add to that, casual “tidbits” in a smoke-filled elevator dispense the type of peer pressure that makes one think first before caving into any status quo:

“I hoped the second one wasn’t for me. I don’t smoke. Shit is gross.”

It is no understatement to say that I relish how this story exudes the smoothest prose in a dialect that captures young and seasoned readers alike. The author’s objective remains clear as mud after he observed too many young people who detested reading—a lot of them boys.

According to Reynolds:-

“I know that many of these book-hating boys, don’t actually hate books, they hate boredom. So, here’s what I plan to do: NOT WRITE BORING BOOKS.”

A combination of distinct voice tones with sentences structured and reading more action movie than average text plus superb illustrations easily place this novel in the ‘un-putdownable’ category. So, I didn’t.

Boys and girls both young through to ‘golden year-ed’ will feel inspired by this work for its unique and plausible plot twists together with covert guidance providing enough pause for thought, emotion, and everything in between.

However, it’s the abolition of conventional literary layout that potentially transforms readership palettes going forward. Artistry in arrangement, electrifying as the content itself, is an audience gamechanger, permitting even the most reticent of readers an opportunity to finish a 323-page book in a day since each page is effortless in laying a destination trail impossible to resist following until its unexpected end.

Thank you so much for reading my story! Your time investment is valued more than I can express. You may like more of my literature-themed work below.

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