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Long Way Down

Author	Jason Reynolds
Publisher	Simon and Schuster
Publication date	October 24, 2017
Pages	306
Awards	Printz Honor Book, Coretta Scott King author award, Newbery Honor
ISBN	978-1-48143-825-4
OCLC	972216719

Long Way Down is a young adult novel in verse by Jason Reynolds, published October 24, 2017, by Atheneum Books. The book was longlisted for the National Book Award and was named a Printz Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Newbery Medal Honor Book, alongside other awards and positive reviews.

A graphic novel edition of the book, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff, was published October 13, 2020.

Background

Reynolds held the idea for Long Way Down for years before finally writing it. In 2003 when Reynolds was 19, he learned that a friend had been murdered. Speaking of the moment, he said he and his friends felt "an anger, a pain, like a cancer metastasizing by the second, spreading around us and through us. We knew his death had changed us chemically, and that we could do, perhaps, what we never knew we could do before. Kill." Reynolds continued,

Long Way Down is meant to help us all recognize the weight of it. Not just the weight of gun violence, but the weight of anger bearing down on fragile backs. The weight of slow-burning psychosis. The weight of community codes, family dynamic, tradition. The weight of The Rules. The weight of guaranteed cold cases. The weight of fear, and the feeling of insignificance. The weight of dehumanization, of being stripped of personhood because of instinctual moments and feelings, unfettered. The weight of so many children—more specifically, so many black and brown children—jumping on this soiled American mattress, poverty, illiteracy, and prejudice serving as the coils.

Plot

William Holloman is ready to exact vengeance on the person who murdered his older brother, Shawn. As Will rides the elevator down from his eighth-floor apartment, a new person, who is dead, gets on on each floor and tells a story about their lives, all connected to three rules of the neighborhood:

1. Don't cry.
2. Don't snitch.
3. Get revenge.

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 death.

The full story takes place over the course of a minute.

Reception

Long Way Down was a New York Times best seller and Junior Library Guild selection.

The book received starred reviews from Booklist, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Horn Book, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, as well as positive reviews from Shelf Awareness.

In reviews, the book was called "astonishing," "a tour de force," "powerful," and "intense."

Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, the New York Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, Paste, Buzzfeed, Horn Book, and School Library Journal named Long Way Down one of the best young adult books of the year. The Washington Post included it in their list of "50 Notable Works of Fiction 2017."

TIME added it to their "100 Best YA Books of All Time" list, and Buzzfeed named it one of the best 30 young adult books of the decade.

Awards and honors

Graphic novel

A graphic novel edition of the book, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff, was published October 13, 2020, by Atheneum. This graphic novel was the 2022 winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal.

Writing for Horn Book, Patrick Gall applauded the imagery, noting that

artful decisions offer readers insight into Will’s emotional state at any given moment. The layered, fragmented layouts found across many spreads have potent impact, along with stylistic touches such as Polaroid photos, video screens, and storyboards seamlessly substituted for panels. Scenes of violence are starkly portrayed, including a double-page image of Shawn’s dead body; however, the complex and unjust reality of Will’s position remains front and center, in stark focus.

In 2021, the American Library Association selected Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel as one of their Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

References

1. ^ "Long Way Down - National Book Foundation". National Book Foundation. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
2. ^ "Reynolds, Weatherford Named Winners of 2018 Walter Dean Myers Award". School Library Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
3. ^ "Jason Reynolds's Printz Honor Acceptance Speech" (PDF).
4. Reynolds, Jason (October 24, 2017). Long Way Down. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4814-3827-8.
5. ^ "Long Way Down". Kirkus Reviews. July 2, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
6. "Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
7. Smith, Julia (July 2017). Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds. Retrieved November 28, 2018 – via Booklist Online.
8. Bush, Elizabeth (2017). "Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (review)". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 71 (2): 90. doi:10.1353/bcc.2017.0735. ISSN 1558-6766. S2CID 201735854 – via Project MUSE.
9. Sutton, Roger (October 5, 2017). "Review of Long Way Down". The Horn Book. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
10. ^ "Children's Book Review: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum/Dlouhy, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-4814-3825-4". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
11. ^ Anderson, Kristen. "Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds | SLJ Review". School Library Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
12. ^ Gaetano, Siân (October 24, 2017). "Long Way Down". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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26. "Long Way Down". Goodreads. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
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28. Cassie (August 1, 2018). "2018 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Winner & Finalists Announced". Teachers Who Read. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
29. "Long Way Down | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. August 1, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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34. ^ Roback, Diane (February 18, 2017). "Kelly, Cordell, LaCour Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
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41. "2018 Thumbs Up! Award". Michigan Library Association. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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43. "2018 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
44. "2018 Teens' Top Ten". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). March 14, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
45. "Nominations published for the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals 2019". The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards. November 5, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
46. "2019 High School Sequoyah Masterlist". Oklahoma Library Association. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
47. SBarta (March 25, 2019). "Announcing the 2019 RITBA Winner and the 2020 List!". Rhode Island Teen Book Award. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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52. Reynolds, Jason (2020). Long way down : the graphic novel. Danica Novgorodoff (Illus.) (First ed.). New York: Atheneum Books. ISBN 978-1-5344-4495-9. OCLC 1139764258.
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55. "2021 Great Graphic Novels for Teens". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.

• 2017 children's books
• Michael L. Printz Award–winning works
• Newbery Honor–winning works
• African-American young adult novels
• Atheneum Books books
• Books by Jason Reynolds
• Edgar Award–winning works