If you like: spoken word poetry, The Hate You Give, Queen Latifah, Christopher Myers.
I read Long Way Down in anticipation of Jason Reynolds visiting the Willard Library. I didn’t get a chance to attend the event, but this book stuck with me.
Told in verse, teen Will is propelled by The Rules to kill the young man he thinks shot his brother in a drive-by. There are six floors between his apartment and the lobby, and while he can’t explain it, the elevator stops on each floor for a ghost.
A bigger picture is revealed with the story of each murder, not only of Will's life but the forces that have shaped him and his community. It’s not a mystery, it’s not going to end with the revelation of his brother’s killer, but the big question is who Will is and whether he can challenge The Rules.
It's a quick read, but packs a punch. Not in an emotionally manipulative way -- it rings so true, even for someone who has no experience with the kind of fear that Will has grown up with.
The book came to mind recently when I was re-reading an article by Washington Post features writer, Gene Weingarten. Called Fear Itself, it's about the psychology of growing up in fear -- in the Middle East.
Will's story is much closer to home and brings layers to a story that makes headlines in cities across America. Not necessarily forgiving, certainly not glamorizing, but understanding.
Reading a couple interviews with Reynolds, I get the impression he wrote this book for those kids who grow up in fear. But he also knew it could be a window for others.
And I feel a little weird saying this about a book that is tragic in so many ways, but Reynolds is also a pleasure to read. Like these verses:
It's Hard to Say
Shawn's
dead.
Shawn's
dead.
Shawn's
dead.
So strange to say.
So sad.
But I guess
not surprising,
which I guess is
even stranger,
and even sadder.
I LOOKED AROUND
only seeing the orange glow
of five cigarettes puncturing
the sheet of smoke
like headlights in
heavy fog.
Only five cigarettes.
Shawn hadn't lit one,
became invisible
in the cloud.
And I felt like
the cigarette meant for him
was burning in
my stomach,
filling me with
stinging fire.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds; Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books; Oct. 2017.
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