Long Way Down

The book is about gun violence, so readers see and hear the stories of people killed by guns -- both children and young adults. Blood is mentioned, as is how people looked as they died. A teen contemplates taking another's life with a gun. Two different men press guns to the back of people's heads. One pulls the trigger and kills a man. Another person admits to killing the wrong person. We see a gunshot hole revealed in a dead person.

Mild discussion of liking girls.

Infrequent strong language: one use each of "s--t," "damn," "f----rs," "a--hole," "corny-ass," punk-ass," "spooky-ass," "pissed off."

Some alcohol use/abuse by adults. Adults and teens (who are ghosts) smoke cigarettes. Will's Uncle Mark sold drugs on the corner.

Parents need to know that Jason Reynolds' Long Way Down won a 2018 Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and Michael L. Printz Honor. It's a novel in free verse that tells the story of an African American teen boy at a crossroads. Determined to avenge his 19-year-old brother's death, Will, age 15, takes his brother's gun out of their shared bedroom to kill the person he's certain is the murderer, but it's a long way down in the elevator. Almost the whole novel takes place in the span of the 60-second ride from the seventh floor to the lobby, as Will's past and "The Rules" he's learned about being tough flash before him, aided by conversations with the ghosts of friends and relatives who were victims of gun violence. Multiple incidents of shootings, death, and grief are recalled and described. There's infrequent strong language (including one-time uses of "s--t" and "f----rs"), adult drinking, and smoking by teen and adult ghosts. Parents should be prepared to have conversations about grief, loss, gun violence, and sound decision-making.