Bibliographic Information:
- Title: Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel
- Author: Jason Reynolds
- Illustrator: Danica Novgorodoff
- ISBN: 1534444955
- Publisher: Atheneum
- Copyright Date: October 13, 2020
Genre: Coming of Age, Contemporary Fiction/Realistic Fiction/ Poetry
Format: Graphic Novel
Awards/Honors: YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers nominee 2021
Reading Level/Interest Level: Teens ages 13-18 (Goodreads.com, 2020)
Plot Summary: Will’s brother Shawn was murdered and there are rules in his neighborhood that he needs to follow; no crying, no snitching, get revenge. Will grabs Shawn’s gun and heads down in his elevator to shoot the kid that he thinks killed his brother. A new ghost appears on every floor. Each ghost was a victim of gun violence and had a connection to Shawn. They tell Will their stories and cause him to think about what he is about to do. As Will reaches the bottom floor, he is not convinced that he knows who killed his brother, and the fact that he never shot a gun before, causes him to re-thing what he is about to do.
Author Background: Jason Reynolds is a New York Times Best Selling author and poet who writes novels and poetry for young adults and middle-grade students. Reynolds was born in Washington, D.C. and raised nearby in Maryland. He was inspired by rap and started writing poetry when he was nine years old. Reynolds published his first novel, When I Was The Greatest, in 2014, which won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Reynolds wrote seven more novels in the next four years, including the New York Times best-selling Track Series: Ghost (2016), Patina (2017), Sunny (2018), and Lu (2018). In 2017, Reynolds wrote Long Way Down, a book in verse, which was named a Newbery Honor book, a Printz Honor Book, and best young adult work by the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award (Jason Writes Books, N.D.).
“HERE’S WHAT I PLAN TO DO: NOT WRITE BORING BOOKS” is a quote posted on Jason Reynold’s website, Jasonwritesbooks.com (N.D.). According to Reynolds, there are a lot of young people who hate reading, and many of these are boys. Reynolds feels that these boys do not really hate to read in general, but they hate to read boring books. His goal is to write books that middle-grade students and young adults will find interesting. All of Reynold’s writing features minority characters, which he sees as “a reflection of the modern world” (Wikipedia, 2021). In January 2020, Reynolds was named as the Library of Congress’ Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
Illustrator Background: Danica Novgorodoff is a graphic novelist, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer from Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of Yale University. Her first graphic novel, A Late Freeze was self-published in 2006, and won the Isotope Award for excellence in min-comics. Her other graphic novels include Slow Storm (2008), Refresh, Refresh (2009), and The Undertaking of Lily Chen (2014). Novgorodoff’s most recent graphic novel is Long Way Down, (2020) an adaptation of Jason Reynold’s book (Wikipedia, 2021).
Novgorodoff was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in 2015 and was named Sarabande Books writer in residence in 2016. Her work has appeared in many publications, including MoMa Magazine, Best American Comics, Esquire, and many more (Danica Novgorodoff, 2020).
Critical Evaluation: Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel is a beautifully written and illustrated adaptation of Jason Reynold’s book. The illustrations are haunting and enhance the text. They are very subdued tones with an occasional splash of color. The story is thought provoking and heartbreaking. Some of the original dialogue of the book was used but shortened to make the story go faster. The book ends with a cliff-hanger that causes the reader to think about gun violence and its effects on communtities.
Creative Use for a Library Program: A library program for this book could be to have the teens write poetry and illustrate them. Since the illustrations in the book are watercolor paintings, the teens could use watercolors to enhance their poetry. The poems and their illustrations could be displayed in the teen room at the library.
Speed-Round Book Talk: There are rules. And everyone knows you can’t break these rules. No crying, no snitching, get revenge. Haunted by ghosts of his brother’s past as he descends an elevator, Will starts to rethink these rules and wonder if what he is about to do is right. Read Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel to see what Will decides.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: Challenges to this book could that it is very violent and may not be appropriate for younger teens or those who are overly sensitive. A defense to this could be that it is important for YA literature to discuss current issues and inform teens about what is going on in the world.
Reason for Inclusion: I included Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel because it is a very powerful story with beautiful illustrations. The original book, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, is very popular with teen and still goes out a lot in my library, even though it was written in 2017. Reynold’s books, in general, are very popular with teens. The illustrations enhance the poetry in the graphic novel, and even though the story is sad and haunting, I feel that it is important for teens to be aware of gun violence and its consequences.
References:
Barnes & Noble. (2020). Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel. [Illustration]. Retrieved from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/long-way-down-jason-reynolds/1136314585
Danica Novgorodoff. (2020). About. Retrieved from https://www.danicanovgorodoff.com/about
Faberandfaber. (2020, November 17). Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yg4OIt2z0g&ab_channel=faberandfaber
Jason Writes Books. (N.D.) About. Retrieved from https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com/about
Jason Writes Books. (N.D.) Photo of Jason Reynolds. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com/about
Wikipedia. (2021, May 8). Danica Novgorodoff. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danica_Novgorodoff
Debby's YA Mini Library Collection 