Reynolds, J. (2017). Long way down. Antheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Summary
This book of verse is a 306 page novel that takes place in 67 seconds of a single lifetime. Will gets on the elevator on the 7th floor with his murdered brother's gun shoved into the waistband of his pants. It takes Will the length of the ride, and six other passengers, for Will to understand the death of his brother, and to decide if he wants to kill the one who murdered his brother for revenge.
A Teacher's Perspective
This novel was chosen from the YALSA Outstanding Books for the College Bound list.
I've seen this book buzzing on all of my teacher group pages. All of them. Everyone was enthralled with this book before Covid hit. Then came the digital/distance-learning packages and the classroom activities, and I knew it needed to be on my TBR list. I'm so glad I found it on the required reading list for my coursework because it was a delight. I'm not huge on books of verse, but was quickly hooked into Will's story. My students, especially the reluctant 'poetry' readers who 'haaaate' poetry will honestly enjoy this, especially since there are so many resources at a teacher's fingertips for pulling them in.
Want to know more?
To purchase your own copy of Long Way Down: Click here!
There are SEVERAL amazing classroom activities, novel studies, and extensions on TeachersPayTeachers--there are even guides as to how to teach it in the classroom. Here are a couple of the ones I like:
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