Book Review: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

ALL HEARTRENDING = ENTHRALLING READ

Award winner.

Coretta Scott King Honor

Newbery Honor

Printz Honor

Walter Dean Myer Award

Written in free verse

(which is not my thing),

I sat down one morning

to try and force my way through.

But before I knew it

I couldn’t turn the pages

fast enough to

keep the story going.           

Brother Shawn murdered and

Will knows the neighborhood rules:

    1.   Crying. Don’t.

No matter what.

    2.   Snitching. Don’t.

No Matter what.

    3.   Revenge. Do.

    No matter what.

So he finds his brother’s gun

and he’s on his way

to right a wrong

when the elevator

sets him on an otherworldly trip.

From the 8^th floor to

the ground floor, the deceased

will step on with a little word

or two for Will.

Don’t want to give

too much away.

You need to experience

this book for yourself.

See the cycle

of violence some live

each day.

What does Will do?

Follow the

neighborhood rules

or break the cycle?

No regrets 

will you experience

from having read

this novel.

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Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

A novel ripped from the headlines but in this case, we are given unlimited access to the thoughts and feelings of the central character. What an eye-opener that is for the reader! You may have heard of this book even if you haven’t read it yet.  A debut novel, it quickly because a New York Times best seller for this Mississippi author.

Starr Carter lives in a poor, black neighborhood and attends school at a posh suburban prep school. It’s like she’s trying to balance two separate lives. After attending a party in the neighborhood that breaks up due to a fight and gunshots, Starr is in the car with her childhood friend, Khalil, when they are pulled over by police. In front of her eyes, the unarmed Khalil is shot and killed by police. Starr is thrust into the aftermath – social unrest, police investigation, grand jury testimony, media coverage – all while trying to deal with her grief and anger.

This is a well-told story. There are too many components to mention them all. Starr’s father wants to stay in the neighborhood; Starr’s mother wants to move to the suburbs. Starr’s boyfriend is white, and her father doesn’t know about him. One of Starr’s best friends at school is a racist that doesn’t even realize she is one (and it takes Starr a while to figure that out). Khalil might have been a drug dealer but if he is, will you be sympathetic when you hear why? Starr wants to do the right thing but she is scared and what she says or does not say may destroy her community and endanger her life and the life of her family.

I agree with a review I read that this is a book that should be read by everyone, not just teens. 

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Book Review: Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

Do you think about what someone might be doing when you send them a text?  Do you ever send a text when you think/know they might be driving?  In Goodbye Days, Carver Briggs is waiting on his three best friends (Mars, Eli, and Blake) to pick him up from work, and he sends them a simple text:

 Where are you guys? Text me back.

Their vehicle rear-ends a semi-truck and all three teenagers are killed.  When the driver’s phone is recovered, it contains a partial response to Carver’s text. This book covers the ensuing days with flashbacks thrown in.  Carver deals with guilt, grief, and the possibility of criminal charges for negligent manslaughter.  He starts a friendship with the girlfriend of one of his friends and she is an ally at school where no one knows how to treat him anymore.  Blake’s grandmother wants Carver to spend a goodbye day with her to share memories and say goodbye to Blake.  Eventually, Carver will spend a goodbye day with Eli’s and Mars’ family as well. 

I picked this book to read because I had previously read The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, and it was a truly good read.  This book did not disappoint.  It was thought-provoking.  I also learned a few new words like pareidolia, synesthesia, and oeuvre.  In his previous novel (and this one as well), I feel connected to the characters.   Both novels also touch on teens questioning the religion of their parents.  This is a natural question during the teenage years:  Do I share my parents’ beliefs?  Zentner speaks to this issue without belittling or negating anyone’s belief system. 

One of the lines I liked:  “For the most part, you don’t hold the people you love in your heart because they rescued you from drowning or pulled you from a burning house.  Mostly you hold them in your heart because they save you, in a million quiet and perfect ways, from being alone.”

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