Reynolds, Jason. 
LONG WAY DOWN
New York : Atheneum, 2017
IL YA
ISBN 1481438255

(5 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Will is on his way to avenge his brother's shooting. That's the rule.  The rules that Shawn taught him.
Don’t cry, don’t snitch, always get revenge. And now 15-year-old Will has his brother's gun tucked into his waistband and he will get revenge. He gets in the elevator and pushes the button on the way to his brother's killer. Seven floors away. At each floor, the elevator stops and someone gets in. But these are people who Will knows. And they are all people who have died from gun violence. As Will takes the short ride in the elevator, he begins to learn about the Rules. And what they have cost.

Booktalk #2

Winner of 2018 Newbery Honor, Michael L. Printz Honor, and Coretta Scott King Author Honor Will has always lived by the rules. Number one: no crying. (Ever.) Number two: no snitching. (No matter what.) And number three...well, now that Will’s older brother has been murdered, it’s time to act on this rule: Always seek revenge. This short, fast-paced book, all of which takes place in just a matter of minutes, will have you on the edge of your seat. And it will have you questioning: are rules always meant to be followed? Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2018-2019

Booktalk #3

Shawn taught his younger brother Will to follow the Code: no crying, no snitching, and always get revenge. When 15-year-old Will knows who shot his older brother, he decides to get revenge and gets Shawn’s gun out of the dresser drawer. On the escalator ride down from his 7th floor apartment,a ghost from his past joins him on each floor. When Will reaches the ground floor, it is not clear if he still plans to use his brother’s gun. This novel in verse develops Will’s grief and desperation into a thought-provoking tragedy. (Jodie Purcell, Bishop Blanchet High School https://evergreenbookaward.org/)

Booktalk #4

Imagine that your brother was just murdered. Imagine that you knew who his killer was. Imagine that you had a gun and you knew just what to do with it, to make things right, because those are the rules of the neighborhood. But is it that simple? In the sixty seconds that it takes Will’s elevator to make it to the bottom floor, he has a lot to think about. Because everyone he has ever known who was killed by gun violence, gets on the elevator with him. And they want to know what he’s going to do. Is he going to seek revenge or is he going to choose a new path? (Prepared by: Marti Brown, Westwood High School, martbrown@richland2.org for South Carolina Book Award)

Booktalk #5

Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. These are the rules that Will lives by, the rules that drive him to seek vengeance after his brother Shawn is killed. As Will descends the elevator, it stops at each floor where victims of gun violence from his past join him. (Connecticut Nutmeg Award https://www.nutmegaward.org/)