Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

LONG WAY DOWN by Jason Reynolds is an absolute must read book. This title was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and received numerous other awards (Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor, Printz Honor, Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award, Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner and more), plus starred reviews from essentially every major professional reviewing publication. Pretty awesome, right? Especially for a book which takes place in little more than sixty seconds – the length of an elevator ride.  

The main character is fifteen year-old Will, barely visible on the cover, who is contemplating revenge because his older brother, Shawn, has been shot. At each floor as the elevator stops, someone gets on – Shawn’s mentor, or a former classmate who died from gun violence, and so on. These friends and relatives each share a bit of the story, offer a unique perspective and teach Will something new.  Reynolds wrote this novel in narrative verse – which makes this quick read even more powerful and impactful.   

Focusing on gun violence in our society, LONG WAY DOWN was difficult to read at times, but that is an important conversation our country needs to have. Listen, for example, to the students from Parkland, Florida. Here is Emma Gonzalez:

from an article on the BBC reporting on the planned March for Our Lives to be held on March 24 in Washington and around the country.  In the author bio for LONG WAY DOWN Jason Reynolds is described as "tired of being around young people who are tired of feeling invisible." Well, they are taking action and we should be proud that they are speaking up.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

“She clicks the top of her pen. Then clicks it again. Each one is a moment. The first click, the pause between the clicks, and the second click. The longer you live. The harder it becomes. To grab them. Each little moment as it arrives. To be living in something other than the past or the future. To be actually here."

 

HOW TO STOP TIME by Matt Haig is one of those mind bending books that I have been reading a bit at a time, partly to be able to reflect on Haig’s work and partly to savor the writing and make it last. In this novel, Tom Hazard is four hundred and thirty-nine years old, although he physically ages very slowly and in appearance seems to be in his early forties. His life story alternates back and forth from 16th century rural England where his mother is suspected of being a witch and the London of that time where he first fell in love, to present day London where he teaches school and is attracted to a fellow teacher, Camille.

Readers learn that Tom is looking for his child, Marion, who may age similarly. Plus, he has to deal with potentially being manipulated by an organization (The Albatross Society) which seeks to protect these unique people although its leader, Hendrich, seems threatening and controlling. Throughout, Tom suffers stress headaches and is unable to develop a meaningful, deep relationship with anyone for fear of endangering them. Haig is telling this story on multiple levels, and Tom’s perspective as an outsider from another time provides a vehicle for sharp commentary on current society. Here are a few of my favorite quotes (I have many):

• “You are always living within the parameters of your personality.  No expanse of time or place could change that.”
• “All we can ever be is faithful to our memories of reality, rather than the reality itself, which is something closely related, but never precisely the same thing.”
• “The progress of humanity seemed to be measured in the distance we placed between ourselves and nature.”
• “Places don’t matter to people any more. ... People are only half present where they are these days.  They always have at least one foot in the great digital nowhere.”
• “You understand quite completely that the main lesson of history is: humans don’t learn from history.”

HOW TO STOP TIME received starred reviews from Booklist (“Teens will love this irresistible, crossover work of speculative fiction”) and Publishers Weekly.

So what else have I been reading?  AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN by award-winning author Susan Meissner.  This novel is also a time trip of sorts, taking place in 1918 Pennsylvania where members of the Bright family (Pauline and Thomas with daughters Evelyn, Maggie and Willa) deal with the loss of baby Henry by moving from Quakertown to Philadelphia, leaving behind extended family and their business of rolling cigars to live in a fine house with a bachelor uncle and learn the trade of being an undertaker. When the Spanish flu hits the city, they are forced to confront death on a large scale. 

This historical fiction novel is told from multiple perspectives and each of the Bright women shares her thoughts. With positive blurbs from novelists like Jillian Cantor and Helen Simonson, AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN is apt to appeal to book clubs and received a starred review from Library Journal.  

Both titles appear on the February 2018 LibraryReads List.