Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Train I Ride by Paul Mosier
Cristina and Jeff:
I feel very glad that I picked up Long Way Down to read without having any prior information about the book beforehand. It was a surprise to find the unique and blunt format, and found myself re-reading pages aloud to my unsuspecting husband, and even in those short lines, he was very intrigued and read it cover to cover once I was finished. Kids need something to make them stop in their tracks every so often. It is not an ambitious read, so it is accessible to any of my students, which I appreciate. Jeff and I spoke at length about Train I Ride, and came to the conclusion that although it is an excellent book, and I’d be up for reviving it later as a Zombie Pick, Long Way Down deserves to be pushed forward as an important and engaging text and a must-have in any middle school classroom.
DLFS Picks Long Way Down by a long, long mile.
Stacie: I enjoyed reading both of these books this round. Long Way Down made me stop and think afterwards. It took me a few minutes to fully understand the ending and its significance. I really liked the message the author was trying to get across to the reader. It was a very quick read due to the format the book was written in. I would recommend this book to adults and high school students but likely not to junior high students. My vote this round goes to Train I Ride. I would recommend this book to junior high students. I think grade 8 girls would especially enjoy this read. This book introduces us to Rydr, a 13 year old girl who is traveling from California to Chicago to live with a new relative. We slowly learn more about Rydr and the difficult experiences she has endured. I think she is a very relatable character for many teenagers.
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