From the Stacks: Powerful, suspenseful journey makes for a 'Long Way Down'

"Long Way Down" is Jason Reynold's take on gun violence in inner cities. Will's older brother Shawn was just gunned down in front of him. Will knows the rules: no crying, no snitching, get revenge. Will has been taught the rules by Shawn, just as Shawn was taught the rules. They live in a rough world and the rules are what keeps it together. Will knows what he has to do. He comforts his mom who is allowed to cry and then he finds Shawn's gun. Will is pretty sure he knows who killed Shawn, but of course he won't tell. Now it is time for rule three: revenge. He gets into the elevator early on the morning after Shawn's death and his world changes.

There are seven stops to the lobby, each stop is another lesson from someone Will knew.

First up is Buck. Buck gave Shawn the gun. Buck was a surrogate father to Shawn. Buck is dead, shot like so many. Yet he still fills the elevator with his cigarette smoke. Next stop is Dani. She was Will's best friend when they were young. She took a stray bullet while they were playing at the park. She is followed by Uncle Mark, then Will's dad Mickey, then Frick the guy who killed Buck, and finally Shawn. They were each killed by gun violence and they each have a story to tell Will, a lesson to impart, questions to ask. The final question: will Will follow them?

Jason Reynolds is a master storyteller, and this is one of the most powerful novels in verse I have read. The story is powerful in a way not many stories are. It is going to speak to those who are victims of gun violence and gangs as well as those who live far from that daily fear. Will has many ghosts and they all come back to him in that short elevator ride. He is young and scared, but he knows what he has to do and plans on following through.

Reynolds asks the question of whether what you are taught matters after you are dead. Is there a way to break the vicious cycle that has enveloped Will's family and society? Can Will break the cycle? Will Will break the cycle? Or will he follow in the footsteps of those who came before him and died? We are left with an ambiguous ending. We don't know what Will chooses.

As a reader, you want him to go back upstairs and hide the gun away again. As a realist, you wonder if he is capable of ending that cycle of violence. That seems like a question you could ask so many young people whose lives are enveloped by violence and gangs. Is it possible to break the cycle?

Angie Bayne is the children's department manager at Missouri River Regional Library.