He later obtained his GED and went on to attend the University of Maryland, where he studied English.Īfter college, he worked as a middle school teacher before becoming a full-time writer. He grew up in a working-class family and dropped out of high school. Printz Award and the Coretta Scott King Book Award. He has won several awards for his writing, including the American Library Association’s Michael L. Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adults.

Long Way Down is a powerful and moving novel about grief, loss, love, and hope. The novel ends with Will and Lila starting to walk back up the stairs together, both of them alive and determined to live. Will is stunned to see her and realizes that he does not want to die after all. There, he meets a girl called Lila, who has also just attempted suicide. However, Will is adamant that he wants to die and eventually makes it all the way down to the bottom of the building. Each of them tries to convince Will to turn back and not go through with his suicide. They include his best friend, Mikey his ex-girlfriend, Jody and his brother, Shawn. On his way down, he meets other people who have also died by suicide. However, he decides against it and starts to walk down the stairs instead. He has a gun in his hand and is thinking about shooting himself. The novel starts with the main character, Will, at the top of a building. Long Way Down Book Multiple Languages Editions.

A long way down book