Jason Reynolds

SHORTLISTED for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, WINNER of the UKLA 'A masterpiece from beginning to end.' Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give AND THEN THERE WERE SHOTS Everybody ran, ducked, hid, tucked themselves tight. Pressed our lips to the pavement and prayed the boom, followed by the buzz of a bullet, didn't meet us. After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he's doing. This haunting, lyrical, powerful verse novel will blow you away. 'A heartrending and convincing blank verse narrative.' Sunday Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'Astonishing.' Kirkus Reviews 'A tour de force.' Publishers Weekly 'Will attract teenagers who don't consider themselves 'readers'.' The Inis Reading Guide

Long Way Down

Paula Plaza Ponte 

Loved the original and loved this graphic novel too. The art work is phenomenal. Really brought a lot of the text to life in a different way. Wonderful.

“An intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger.” —Booklist (starred review) “Astonishing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A tour de force.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) A Newbery Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Honor Book A Printz Honor Book A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2017 A Vulture Best YA Book of 2017 A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017 An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds’s 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. A cannon. A strap. A piece. A biscuit. A burner. A heater. A chopper. A gat. A hammer A tool for RULE Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator? Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if Will gets off that elevator. Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds.

Ryan 

2.5 stars

this is just one of those books where everyone raves about this book but for me, i hardly feel the same way with everyone else. i hardly read books in verse, so this was the first book that i ever read that had an interesting layout like this. this book definitely reads like a normal book would, a story that’s being told. however, i feel somewhat disappointed that IT IS read more like a story rather than in poetic verse. i don’t know if that’s me because i’m recently learning about analyzing poetry in my ap english literature class, but i think it’s good that when people start reading this book, it’s not going to confuse the hell out of you.

most of the story happens within a minute, which for me sounds a bit overbearing to go through when realistically, these characters in the story come in and SO many things happen that you think, “Does this really happen within a minute?” i get the message of the story, knowing that revenge is not the best case and how drugs, gang culture, and violence plays a role in will’s decision. it definitely challenged will to rethink certain things that he has been following for mostly his life. we also see how violence within a community such as this is perpetual. there’s this never-ending cycle of revenge leading to violence, then to death and how there’s nothing that can be changed about that. BUT for some reason, it didn’t hit me in full impact like i wanted to that everyone else that read this book felt.

Cat Josephson

After the first 5 pages, I wasn't sure I was going to like this book... But it quickly won me over. Probably the best book I've read all year.

Jason Reynolds’s Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novel Long Way Down is now a gripping, galvanizing graphic novel, with haunting artwork by Danica Novgorodoff. Will’s older brother, Shawn, has been shot. Dead. Will feels a sadness so great, he can’t explain it. But in his neighborhood, there are THE RULES: No. 1: Crying. Don’t. No matter what. No. 2: Snitching Don’t. No matter what. No. 3: Revenge Do. No matter what. But bullets miss. You can get the wrong guy. And there’s always someone else who knows to follow the rules…

The Graphic Novel

Lu 🌷

*reread
by far the best and most impactful YA book i’ve ever read

Flavia Louise

Jeff Brown 

I gave my review of the novel which listened to on audiobook, and gave 5 stars.

I didn’t like the artist at all. For such an important subject for YA, the artistry seemed childish, like for readers 10 years younger. Distracting.

nelly sanchez

3★


As the first book in verse that I have ever read, I completely fell in love with the writing style. I do lowkey regret buying this full price in Barnes and Noble though because I didn't know it was in verse and I ended up reading the whole thing in a little over an hour. But, it was still a gorgeous story. It is so powerful and moving, and I fully believe that everyone should read this book at least once.

Kaitee Tredway

Goddamn. Listened to this — outstandingly read/written.

I think I need to see the words on the page too.
Damn. This really took me outside of my lived experience, something I haven’t done with a book in a while. Damn.

Kathleen Boyle

This was a really interesting story. I loved the way it was written and the poetry really added to the story. It was beautiful. I had a hard time getting into it at times, I felt a little detached from the storytelling, I don't think it was the verse though. 

The audiobook is narrated by Jason Reynolds and he was fantastic. I understand his decision to narrate it, he knows exactly how to convey the emotion of his own words. At the end of the audiobook, there is an interview with the author and it was really insightful and really opens up a little bit more about the story and its inspiration.

Ivayla Stefanova

This book is great! The author's narration makes it a surreal experience! Yet it lacked in character development and since I've already read it twice, I was bored at times.

laura

I thought this book was impactful and such a important read. It is graphic novel created from his other work. I thought this book was super impactful and dealt with so many topics that are just not talked about like gun violence and cycle of violence and loss. I am also was so captured by the graphic style and just caught my heart. Will made my heart hurt and it just made me angry. but also like a solid look into a experience, i have no knowledge of.

Kath Lau

Linn Jukri

I listened to the audiobook earlier this year and really enjoyed it. But this took it to the next level. I felt a lot more connected to the characters and their backstories when I could see it through the absolutely breathtaking illustrations. A very quick read but I will definitely come back to revisit the story and marvel at the beautiful watercolour style pictures.

Danielle Ely

Heartbreaking and real

This story tears my heart apart thinking this is real life for so many people in our country, our world.

Janne Janssens

BE/NL Review

Bedankt aan Blossom Books en L&M Books voor dit recensie-exemplaar. Dit beïnvloedt mijn leeservaring en recensie in geen enkel opzicht. 

De graphic novel 67 SECONDEN is gebaseerd op het gelijknamige boek van Jason Reynold (originele titel: LONG WAY DOWN). Danica Novgorodoff verzorgde de illustraties.

Wanneer zijn grote broer Shawn wordt neergeschoten op het basketbalpleintje, zonder duidelijke reden of dader, kan Will maar één ding denken: hij moet De Regels volgen. Niet snitchen. Niet huilen. Wraak.
Gewapend stapt hij de lift in van zijn appartementsgebouw om zijn eigen verdachte van de moord op zijn broer te gaan confronteren. De rit naar beneden duurt 67 lange seconden. Op elke verdieping stapt er iemand die Will kent. Bij het horen van een ieders verhaal begint Will steeds harder te twijfelen of hij wel goed doet aan het volgen van De Regels.

Een woordje van waarschuwing: deze graphic novel bevat vermeldingen en beelden van geweld, moord en vuurwapens.

67 SECONDEN doorbreekt grenzen, zowel inhoudelijk als vormelijk. Jason Reynolds snijdt het confronterende onderwerp aan van geweldadige milieus, waar jongeren vaak ongevraagd in terecht (en meestal geboren) worden, van hoe moeilijk het is om de vicieuze cirkel van geweld en wraak te doorbreken. Graphic novels hebben vaak een beperkte verteltijd, en dat maakt het soms een hele opgave om lezers emotioneel bij de keel te grijpen, ondanks de versterkende werking van beelden. Reynolds en Novgorodoff slagen hier dik in. Ik was even sprakeloos toen ik de laatste bladzijde omsloeg en moest alles even laten bezinken. Dit verhaal was ruw en confronterend, want het is levensecht. Het trekt je als lezer, die vaak ver weg leeft van dergelijke omstandigheden, uit je comfortzone en dwingt je de ogen te openen, dwingt je na te denken over de fijne grens tussen zinloos geweld, geplande wraak en zelfverdediging. 

De illustrator hield zich niet aan de conventionele kaderindeling die strips en graphic novels typeren. Daarmee ondersteunt de vormgeving sterk de inhoud. Vandaag de dag zijn onze gevoelens, meningen, ervaringen amper nog in hokjes op te delen. We leren dat ieders hun verhaal heeft. Dit verhaal omvat veel mysterie en onafgelijnde emoties, die gereflecteerd worden in dynamische vormen van de inkleuring met waterverf.

67 SECONDEN is veruit de beste graphic novel die ik tot hiertoe gelezen heb. Het is een hartverscheurend, confronterend, mysterieus en wervelend verhaal, dat een grote meerwaarde aan je boekenkast geeft.