Envision a book in which you could feel for the character and empathize with them. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is the improbable story about a boy being torn apart between the rules of his neighborhood and his own morality. Reynolds meticulously portrayed the struggle of living in the hood to serve as his validation for the actions of many characters in the book.

The first thing to note is William’s desire to avenge his brother Shawn’s death serves to add complexity and development to the story. Shawn’s death along with Will’s grief are the main focuses of the story. An example quote,“But you ain't got it in you, Will... You're brother did, but you-- you don’t.”(Reynolds 96) Throughout the majority of the story Will’s primary objective was to avenge Shawn’s death. In most of the conversations he has a discussion about Shawn and wills revenge come up as the main focus, as shown by this quote. His motive affects the plot line because of how each character plays a part in influencing his decision. This creates a story with more depth and structure.

Furthermore, the subject of Will’s inner conflict affects the story line by giving him a chance to change and improve. With each conversation Will’s ideals seem to be challenged by the other characters. Every time this happens he is provoked and becomes less confident in himself, this eventually results in him giving in, an example one of these situations, “After I said it, and shoots, it was like the words came out and at the same time went in. Went down into me and chewed on everything inside as if I had somehow swallowed my own teeth and they were sharper than I’d ever known.”(Reynolds 190) This shows how uneasy Will is about what he's about to do.  He continues to be at odds with that is going on around him and is struggling to keep himself emotionally stable.

Moving on to the most unique and interesting thing about this book, the way the text is formatted and the way the flashbacks are handled give the story a unique tone. The book is created with a style exclusive to it, each page is formatted in stanzas rather than paragraphs. Any other book would have a feeling of reading a story, but Reynolds gives the readers a sense of experience with the book. This gives the story a poetic and artistic aspect. Coupled with the flashback that Williams father is explaining,“Couldn't kiss your mother, couldn’t kiss you boys good night. Just lay naked in the scummy bathtub, the cold porcelain keeping me from sleep… from nightmares.”(Reynolds 216) One of many examples of Reynolds unique style. The quote is organized so that the reader can feel like they are experiencing the events first hand. It gives the reader less to and more to think about by placing them inside the minds of each character. With each flashback Will and the reader learn more and more about him and the people around him, this leads to the conclusion to the book.

Overall Jason Reynolds book Long Way Down depicts the hard life of a boy named William as he is forced by the cruel community he lives in to kill his brother’s murderer. Although he does not succeed he learns a much more valuable lesson then killing. That he no longer needs to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors.