Long Way Down

Long Way Down

I had seen this book on the shelves for quite some time and never picked it up. It had an intriguing cover art design, but my TBR pile was so daunting, I didn’t want to add another book until I was at least 50% completed with the list. However, I’m glad a friend recommended it to me because it is one of my favorite young adult verse novels. It was a complete ravenous read. The verses and word choice were clever and creative. Every word served a purpose to propel the story and develop the characters.

In a way, Long Way Down reminded me of A Christmas Carol with ghosts appearing in Will’s life to help him during emotional turmoil and a deadly decision. It also reminded me of A Monster Calls where the main character needs to accept reality and let go of their inner demons before it consumes them.

If schools did an update on summer reading lists or class reading, Long Way Down is a perfect choice. It has received many awards and is a great conversation book to discuss with students that could be dealing with the same issues as the protagonists. There’s also plenty of subtext and metaphors to decipher, analyze, and interpret.

I love that poetry is still an influential tool for authors to use. It visualizes the story and forces authors to choose their word economy carefully.

I highly recommend this book for those who’ve never read a verse novel as a gateway into verse novels. They may be quick reads, but they require you to interpret, visualize, and feel the rhythm of each word.