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theonlybaillie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
virgcole398's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Death and Gun violence
janetsuzanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Murder
adearajean's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Violence
lawbooks600's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Well. I finally read the original version of Long Way Down. I read an adaptation before this one and enjoyed it so I hoped this edition lives up to the hype. I glanced the blurb, which made me think it would be a heavy yet intriguing read, all in poetry to boot. Unfortunately, when I closed the final page of Long Way Down, it underwhelmed me.
The plot is similar to the other adaptation, but here's a quick recap: Will sees his brother, Shawn, die from a gunshot, so he consults the three rules on what to do next. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. He enters an elevator and everything looks typical except that Will can see ghosts of people who died in the past. They were victims of the rules and the cycle of gun violence and when the elevator reaches the ground floor, the ending is open. It's not clear if Will will follow the third rule. The concept is outstanding, but the execution--not so much. The art in the other version added impact and even though I liked some pages of Long Way Down, most of them were monotonous and felt like what happened when someone pressed the Enter key many times. I liked the message in Long Way Down, which is that gun violence kills many but the delivery is only okay, but I appreciate that it isn't too preachy. I wonder what the author's other fictional compositions are like.
To summarise, Long Way Down initially seemed like a promising narrative about gun violence in verse, but in the end, it dissatisfied me, making me feel like this novel isn't the best example of poetry ever. Maybe if it was written in prose it would've been better.
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, and Grief
Full trigger warnings: Death of a father and uncle in the past and a brother, blood, grief and loss depiction, gun violence Score: Six points out of ten.te_ss_i's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Body horror, Death, Grief, Blood, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Violence
bt_wannabe's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child death
katelynprice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Death
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Blood
jzargo_thebird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
susaned's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Violence, Murder, Death, Drug use, and Gun violence