Bradley Stoke Community School

Long Way Down

By Jason Reynolds

 

Synopsis

After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he's doing.

Setting

Fictional city

Themes

Grief

Morality

Gang/knife culture

Genre

Coming of Age

Realist Literature

Verse novel

Educational Aspects

  • Links to PSHE/English Curriculum

  • Engaging for reluctant readers