Marshmallow reviews Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

In her second review for 2024, Marshmallow talks about Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, first published in 2017, and awarded the Newberry Honor in 2018.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you are interested in reading books about family, gang violence, growing up against significant challenges, and morality, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Will’s brother, Shawn, was just shot in front of him. They live only a couple blocks away from the territory of the Dark Suns, a dangerous local gang, and Shawn had gone into their territory to get a special soap for their mother’s eczema. Will is sure that he knows who is responsible for his brother’s death: Riggs. And he is going to make sure that Riggs pays for it.

See, Will lives in a hard, tough neighborhood. There are gangs, shootings, murders, and violence regularly. And everyone follows the Rules. Shawn, in fact, was the one who taught them to Will:

• Number 1: No crying,
• Number 2: No snitching,
• Number 3: Get revenge if someone hurts your loved ones.

Will is determined to follow the Rules. He sure is not going to cry or “snitch” to the police, but he is going to try to get revenge on Riggs. He takes his brother’s old gun (which is fully loaded except for missing only one bullet) and heads out of his apartment on the eighth floor, to get to where he thinks Riggs is as soon as possible. He gets on the elevator and presses “L”, for lobby.

Unfortunately for Will, it is a long way down and the elevator stops at each level, a person getting on at each. What is more, these are not normal people. These are dead people who Will knew. First, it’s a friend of Shawn. Next, it’s Will’s old friend who was shot at a playground with him. And so on.

Each person Will meets in this short elevator ride that takes the whole book is important to him in some way. His mindset, originally so focused on revenge, starts to loosen. Once the elevator reaches the last floor, will Will continue with his plan or will he make a different choice?

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that Long Way Down is a very successfully written book, in more ways than one.

I, personally, do not always love books written in verse; I sometimes find it hard to discern the plot and I feel like it limits character growth. Before this book, Starfish by Lisa Fipps was the only such book I really appreciated. So when I started reading this book and realized it was in verse, I was a little disheartened. However, I feel like this book was very successful in all the categories most good novels excel in. The narration through Will’s eyes and voice worked well, the characters introduced came across quite clearly, and the events unfolded effectively. The free-style though structured poetry added to the feeling of confinement in an elevator.

Both the plot and the premise of Long Way Down are most intriguing; the whole book takes place in the course of one fateful elevator ride as conversations unfold in front of Will. I do want to warn readers that there is a cliffhanger at the end of the book, and this is not part of a series. However, the journey to that point is worth it. The author did not leave things hanging just for the sake of it of course; the end makes the reader think hard about what will happen next and process the message of the book even more carefully. I can see this book successfully paired with The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton in important discussions young people can have about gangs and violence.

If it is not clear already, let me say explicitly that I think Long Way Down is important for bunnies of all ages to read. There is some slang used, and of course the weight of gang violence might make the book a bit inappropriate for the youngest bunnies. But for bunnies reading middle grades books, it is an important (and quick, breathless) read. Will’s story makes you realize the harsh reality of gang violence if it is not your own actual reality. Many people, pop culture, and the media glorify gangster culture, but this book shows what happens to the people who are affected. 

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.