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I finished Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down on the last day of February, just in time to count it for the Goodreads challenge my library system does; February’s challenge was to read a book by an African-American author, and since the Newberys were announced at the beginning of February, Long Way Down seemed like a perfect fit. (I just had to finish my other book first.) I was honestly impressed by it, especially the ending; I was expecting something a little more–fable-y? Instead, well–let’s just say it packed a powerful punch, but in an unexpected way.
Still, I was conflicted (which is why I’ve been putting off this review). The Newberys are awarded to the authors of the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children. Not only is Long Way Down designated as YF at our library, it has a derivative of the f-word not 25 pages in. (A lesser expletive shows up on page 65.) And then there’s the plot–Will’s brother is shot, Will takes his brother’s gun to follow the neighborhood ‘rules’ and avenge his death, and then Will gets into his building’s elevator to head down towards his mission. Only for each floor he passes, someone connected to him shows up. Someone dead.
Someone killed by a gun.
It’s an impressive idea to begin with, and Reynolds executes it just about perfectly. Will’s voice, his anguish, his turmoil–they all feel desperately real. I was sucked in from the get-go and (metaphorically) holding my breath for the ending. When I actually GOT there, I was in shock for a minute or two, but–how perfect! The idealist in me wanted more resolution, but the writer in me recognized that Reynolds’ ending was better than anything I could have imagined. All in all, it’s a pretty amazing book; it certainly deserves awards.
Those awards, however, are–again–why I’m conflicted. Can a book truly be both a Printz Honor book AND a Newbery Honor book? Or, since it appears that it can be, should it be? I recognize that we live in a world where children have to deal with the realities of gun violence, where Long Way Down may feel more relevant than most of the books my own children read, but is that enough of a reason to consider it literature for children? At least three different organizations honored it specifically as a YA title, and Amazon lists it as a book for teens. Ultimately, I fail to see how anyone can argue that it was written for children, that children are its actual target audience. Jason Reynolds wrote an amazing book, and I’m seriously glad it won most of the awards it did. As for this past year’s Newbery Committee–really, folks?
Really?