Thumbs Up All the Way Down

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
New York : Atheneum, [2017]
306 p. ; 22 cm.

I'm a fan of Jason Reynolds, especially his When I was the Greatest, and somewhat of his foray into superhero fiction; this work did not disappoint.  I wasn't sure I'd like his novel in verse; when that genre fails, it reads like mediocre prose chopped into lines.  Instead, in this novel the poetry works.  The poems help to enhance the ghostly narrative of the work (the main character is visited by ghosts of friends and family who have been killed by guns), and Reynolds uses a lot of assonance, consonance and internal rhymes to keep the language snapping and tight.

The movement of Reynolds' story is also creative and satisfying.  Will, a young man is on his way to avenge the shooting/killing of his dearly loved older brother, Shawn.  Taking the elevator down from the 7th floor,  he is visited at each floor by the ghosts of various people he's known who have been shot.  These ghosts offer insights, challenges and experience to Will.

The novel manages to be moving, thought-provoking, and interesting.  It also doesn't end wrapped up and tidy.  I would definitely recommend this book.

A Fun, but Tangled Web

Miles Morales, Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds
Los Angeles : Marvel, 2017.
261 p. ; 22 cm.

Jason Reynolds is a talented writer (I really enjoyed the last book of his I read) and this story bears that out. It's a fun, clever and fleshed out novel that takes the Brian Michael Bendis' reboot of Spider-man as its jumping off point.     

The fun and attraction of Reynold's novel is the way it just treats as totally believable the idea of a late middle-schooler from Brooklyn having Spider-man-like super powers and runs with it.  Think of the problems and dilemmas having such powers would be while trying to navigate middle school and adolescence.  Add in the pressures of racism on our young African American superhero and you have a great recipe for storytelling. 

I was with Reynolds for all but the villainous (and somewhat mystical, magical mythical) role played by the Chamberlains of the novel.  This character(s) seems to represent the embodiment of White Supremacy and though interesting, I think it ultimately becomes too magical and unresolved.  Does this ruin the novel?  I don't think so.  I still enjoyed the read - great characters, great descriptions of the Brooklyn setting, and some action packed episodes of Spider-man adventures.  However, I would have liked it better if the racism and set-backs were just the usual racism and discrimination that Miles Morales would have experienced - instead of it being in the shapeshifting, creepy incarnation of Chamberlain.

Floats Like a Butterfly

Bed-stuy Setting of When I was the Greatest

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, [2014]
231 p. ; 22 cm.  

This is one of those books that really exceeds expectations!  I read it because I saw that it had won the John Steptoe - New Talent / Coretta Scott King Award for 2015 and had received numerous positive reviews (e.g. Publishers Weekly and Kirkus), and I wanted to see for myself if it was a book I could recommend.  Also, I'm always on the lookout for diverse authors - our school is a very diverse school - and Jason Reynolds, a young African-American writer living in Brooklyn, interested me.

Would I recommend this book?  The answer is a definite Yes!  I loved this book.  One of the reviewers on Goodreads writes, "Jason Reynolds just slays the voice in this book.  Slays it," and I have to agree.  His voice reminded me a lot of Christopher Paul Curtis, the wonderful author of Bud not Buddy. But, where Bud not Buddy is aimed at middle school readers, Reynolds book hits right at the high school age reader.

What I loved about Reynolds book is that it deals with the rough life of the urban working poor and unemployed - and does so with humor, a light touch and a lot of heart.  There is action in this book, a bit of sex (or almost sex), physical violence, lawbreaking, and cussing, but the heart of the book is about loyalty, friendship, acceptance, and - dare one say it? - love.

It's funny to me that the cover, seen here,

was actually controversial!  I was disappointed with the cover, but not for it being too provocative.  On the contrary, I think it's a weak cover that doesn't grab the attention of a high school reader.  A stunning portrait of a kid in a fight, or shadows on a Brooklyn street, or hustlers on a street corner would have been far more compelling.  Honestly, when I first saw the book, I thought "Oh, cool it's a new LGBT book!" For the record, it's not.

Cover aside, I will definitely recommend this book to any student looking for an all-around good read or a fresh take on urban life, drama, and growing up.