Long Way Down

Transcript

QUOTE

“Literature is the safe and traditional vehicle through which we learn about the world and pass on values from one generation to the next. Books save lives.” – Laurie Anderson

INTRO

That was a quote from musician Laurie Anderson on reading. Reading is one of the best things we can do in our day because it keeps us connected to each other across time, age, and space. So in each episode of the We Should All Be Bookworms Podcast, we build our reading habit by taking a quick look at a page-turning, magnetic, universally appealing book that once you start reading, you won’t want to put down. I’m your host, Mykella, a budding novelist and a bonafide bookworm. And today, we’re talking about Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.

Long Way Down by New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds is an electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds – the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.

So join me today as we preview this story. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just finished reading your 33rd book so far this year, or you can’t even remember the last time you read a book — this podcast is for you. In fact, if we can change the world one book at a time, then we should all be bookworms.

WHY THIS BOOK

Critics love this book – it was longlisted for the National Book Award and was named a Printz Honor Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Newbery Medal Honor Book, alongside many other awards and positive reviews. It has an almost 5-star rating from 87,000 GoodReads readers and 4,500 Amazon Readers. It seems like anyone who reads this book, loves it.

So that’s why I bought it. But when it arrived, I flipped through it and immediately dismissed it. I’m not a poetry reader, so when I cracked it open and saw all the verses, I was like – Nah. This one isn’t for me.

But then on a long drive to visit my family in DC, I was listening to a TED Radio Hour podcast episode that featured the author, Jason Reynolds. And I fell in love with him and wanted to meet him and wanted to read everything he’s ever written. So I grabbed Long Way Down off my shelf and gave it another go.

And I inhaled it in less than two hours.

It’s a quick, easy read. A young adult book for ages 13 and up.

And it’s gripping. If you’re not used to reading stories in verse, don’t worry – you sort of fall into the rhythm right away and because the story is so fast-moving – the whole thing is meant to take place over the course of 1 minute – verses sort of propel you along to find out what happens next. 

QUICK SUMMARY

A cannon. A strap.
A piece. A biscuit.
A burner. A heater.
A chopper. A gat.
A hammer
A tool
for RULE

Or in other words – a gun. The Long way down is about a 15-year-old boy named Will whose brother Shawn was just murdered. He shoves a gun into the waistband of his jeans and then hops on the elevator in his building. But on the way down, his elevator ride is hi-jacked by the ghosts of people in his past who were all killed by gun violence. At each stop, when the elevator doors open, a new ghost enters.

One of my favorite ghosts is a girl who gets on that Will recognizes. When he finally places her, he recalls that she was a friend of his who was killed by a stray bullet in front of his eyes while they were playing on the playground. She’s there to challenge him on his decision to go out for revenge – what if he misses and hits someone like her?

And so it goes, all the way down, until Will is let off the elevator and must leave the ghosts behind to make his decision – is revenge worth it?

Long Way Down is in some ways a heartbreaking book. Will represents so many American black boys who live by fierce rules and codes of conduct that perpetuate the cycle of violence in their lives. But they live by these rules out of a sense of Love and Duty and Honor. And it’s not until it’s too late – until you’re in jail or dead – that you realize you had the rules wrong. Jason Reynolds is telling boys in this story that it’s OK to cry. It’s OK to let a slight go unpunished. It’s OK to be vulnerable. And not only is it OK – it’s crucial to your survival in a world that is already hostile to you because of the color of your skin.

 Long Way Down is Jason Reynold’s love letter to black boys growing up in violent, disenfranchised environments – which, unfortunately, in this country, is way too many black boys. I read one review on Amazon where a woman says when she sees a black boy on the bus or subway who is trying to act tough, she is more compassionate in her judgment because this book helped her see past the color and the macho pride to the innocent child inside. This story showed her that their lives matter.

OUTRO

Long Way Down will take the average reader about 2 hours to read. That means if you read for at least 30 minutes a day, you should be able to finish this book in about 4 days – though I’m almost certain once you get started, you won’t stop until you’re done.

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That’s all for this episode. Thank you for listening. You can listen to new episodes monthly on the First Tuesday of the month. And in the meantime, keep reading. Because of you, we’re one book closer to a better world.