--- product_id: 120347347 title: "Long Way Down" price: "NZ$22" currency: NZD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/120347347-long-way-down store_origin: NZ region: New Zealand --- # Long Way Down **Price:** NZ$22 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Long Way Down - **How much does it cost?** NZ$22 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nz](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/120347347-long-way-down) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “An intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger.” — Booklist (starred review) “Astonishing.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A tour de force.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) A Newbery Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Honor Book A Printz Honor Book A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2017 A Vulture Best YA Book of 2017 A Buzzfeed Best YA Book of 2017 An ode to Put the Damn Guns Down, this is New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds’s electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother. A cannon. A strap. A piece. A biscuit. A burner. A heater. A chopper. A gat. A hammer A tool for RULE Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge . That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he? As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually USED his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator? Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES. And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if Will gets off that elevator. Told in short, fierce staccato narrative verse, Long Way Down is a fast and furious, dazzlingly brilliant look at teenage gun violence, as could only be told by Jason Reynolds. Review: Powerful and Poetic – A Deeply Moving Story Told in Verse. - Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a masterfully written novel-in-verse that grips the reader from the first page and doesn’t let go. The story follows Will, a 15 year old boy consumed by grief and rage after his brother is killed. With a gun tucked into his waistband, he steps into an elevator to seek revenge but each floor brings a ghost from his past who challenges his mission and forces him to reconsider the cycle of violence. The entire book takes place during the 60 seconds the elevator descends, making the tension intense and the pacing incredibly tight. Reynolds uses free verse with raw emotion and lyrical power to convey the weight of trauma, family legacy, and the unspoken rules of street life. The minimalistic yet poignant style makes the book accessible, especially to younger readers and reluctant readers, while delivering a message that resonates deeply. It’s not just a story about revenge it’s about choices, pain, and the haunting power of memory. A must-read for teens and adults alike, Long Way Down is a brilliant, unforgettable book that challenges hearts and minds. Review: For even a reluctant reader - Super, super read. Written in prose, also a quick read. Watching his brother get shot in the streets, Will decides to get revenge. He takes a loaded gun and is intent on vindication. On the elevator ride down to the lobby of his apartment building, however, Will shares the elevator with one character after the other and they are helping him work through his trauma and decisions. This would be high interest for even a reluctant reader. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,698 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Teen & Young Adult Ghost Stories #2 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Social & Family Violence (Books) #7 in Teen & Young Adult Siblings Fiction | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 8,147 Reviews | ## Images ![Long Way Down - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/915aVW6A1TL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Powerful and Poetic – A Deeply Moving Story Told in Verse. *by M***. on July 3, 2025* Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a masterfully written novel-in-verse that grips the reader from the first page and doesn’t let go. The story follows Will, a 15 year old boy consumed by grief and rage after his brother is killed. With a gun tucked into his waistband, he steps into an elevator to seek revenge but each floor brings a ghost from his past who challenges his mission and forces him to reconsider the cycle of violence. The entire book takes place during the 60 seconds the elevator descends, making the tension intense and the pacing incredibly tight. Reynolds uses free verse with raw emotion and lyrical power to convey the weight of trauma, family legacy, and the unspoken rules of street life. The minimalistic yet poignant style makes the book accessible, especially to younger readers and reluctant readers, while delivering a message that resonates deeply. It’s not just a story about revenge it’s about choices, pain, and the haunting power of memory. A must-read for teens and adults alike, Long Way Down is a brilliant, unforgettable book that challenges hearts and minds. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For even a reluctant reader *by M***Y on March 24, 2026* Super, super read. Written in prose, also a quick read. Watching his brother get shot in the streets, Will decides to get revenge. He takes a loaded gun and is intent on vindication. On the elevator ride down to the lobby of his apartment building, however, Will shares the elevator with one character after the other and they are helping him work through his trauma and decisions. This would be high interest for even a reluctant reader. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Must Read Novel in Verse *by S***S on November 21, 2022* This is one of those books that grabs you in the beginning and won't let go. Will is outside his apartment with his best friend when a shooting occurs. From the time he was young, he has been taught what to do. If you hear shots, you "eat the pavement." After a few minutes, he stands up to see who the unlucky person is, only to discover it is his brother. Another thing he is taught is you never cry. He takes his mother back inside, where she numbs herself the way she always does. Finally, he goes to the room he shared with his brother. He looks through his brother's drawer until he finds the gun his brother has. He slides it under his pillow. The third rule of the code he has grown up with is you kill the person who killed your loved one. The next morning Will puts the gun in the back of his pants and gets on the elevator to take care of business. When the elevator stops on each floor, someone from his past gets on and talks with him, his uncle, his dad, and others. They each have advice for him. All of these are people who have died. The question we read to find an answer to is, on this long way down, would he listen to them? My heart broke for the character losing his brother the way he did. It broke even more, knowing that so many young people live this very life. I had a student many years ago who told me he had not done his homework because they had several drive-by shootings that night. He said his biggest fear was getting struck by a bullet while sitting in his room. This is a quick read since it is written in verse. I am not sure how I feel about the ending. If you want to know what I am referring to you need to read the book. ## Frequently Bought Together - Long Way Down - The Bone Sparrow: Zana Fraillon - A Christmas Carol (Scholastic Classics) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nz/products/120347347-long-way-down](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/120347347-long-way-down) --- *Product available on Desertcart New Zealand* *Store origin: NZ* *Last updated: 2026-05-29*