On the 7th floor, the elevator stops and a man gets on. He presses L for Lobby, which makes him remember how he and Shawn used to joke that the button stood for "Loser".Īs the elevator makes its "long way down", Will counts down the seconds. He thinks he must have gone after Shawn for being in the wrong territory. Riggs and his gang ruled the territory where Shawn had just been to buy his mother's special soap for her eczema. He sneaks out of his apartment with a plan to avenge his brother's death.Ĭarlson Riggs was Shawn's friend but he had become a member of a gang. Will takes Shawn's gun with the purpose of finding Carlson Riggs, the young man he believes is the killer. Will thinks about Rule #3 and discovers the gun hidden in his brother's middle drawer. When policemen ask questions, Will and others remain silent. Will is too, but feels he can't cry: that's Rule #1. Their mother is beside herself with grief. When Will looked up he saw there was only one body: his 19-year-old brother, Shawn, had been killed.
It's a reflex that has been ingrained into Will since he was a child. They slammed to the ground as they are used to doing when hearing gunshots. Will is 15 and was hanging out with his best friend Tony at the park when shots rang out. Will tells the reader that he swears his story is true, however he doubts anyone will believe it. It is a simple story, but one that is tragically all too familiar. Jason Reynolds said that Long Way Down is written as a bit of a cross between A Christmas Carol and Boyz n' the Hood. Or, a useful refresher for teachers to help them decide if they would like to use this powerful story in the classroom. What do you think happens after the end of the story?īeware! This synopsis of the book, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds below does contain spoilers! This summary is meant to be a helpful recap for students after they have read the book.What messages or lessons do you think the author was trying to convey to the reader?.
Why do you think Jason Reynolds used the elevator as the setting for much of the story?.What do Will's memories of his brother reveal about their relationship to the reader?.What did Will and Shawn's mother mean when she said that when he went walking in the nighttime, he needed to make sure that the nighttime wasn't walking into him?.How does Jason Reynolds use language such as anagrams and other figurative language to enhance the story?.What does Dani symbolize in Long Way Down?.How do your community's or society's rules affect your values?.What are some "rules" that you live by in your life?.How do our choices and our actions in the face of adversity define who we are?.What encourages a cycle of violence? Why is it so difficult to break?.
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