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challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve read the original of this story in verse and was excited to get a copy of the graphic novel for Christmas. The water color illustrations were beautiful and done in a way that enhances the ominous and haunting tone of this story. I forgot how the author chose to end this story & was immersed quickly back in the story to see what Will chooses to do. I think this story is powerful in that it forces the reader to think and evaluate right from wrong. It challenged the Rules of the streets but indirectly and with a clever way. It’s a sad story, but intentional and with strong lessons that I think many kids need to hear - especially ones within this cycle of gangs, drug dealing, or gun violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I finished this book in one day, and it BLEW MY MIND! I had not heard about the original novel this is based on, and I'm glad I hadn't because this definitely hit harder because it was not what I expected. Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, REAL in all the ways that matter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Blood
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have no words to describe this book. I am in awe. Stunning artwork and beautifully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
Moderate: toxic masculinity
Minor: gangs
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Representation: Black characters
Score: Seven points out of ten.
This version of Long Way Down circled my recommendations for a while and when I saw this in a library I visited, I immediately wanted to pick it up. Soon enough, I did and then I read the Long Way Down adaptation, but not before glancing the blurb. Despite being heavy, this story was enjoyable, leaving me wondering what the original text is like.
It starts with the first character I see, Will, whose last name remains undisclosed with his brother Shawn, when someone shot him, and no one reported on it. That is all according to the rules: don't cry, don't snitch and, most prominently, get revenge. Thus begins Will's quest to get Shawn's gun and shoot the shooter but he gets on an elevator and has to wait until it reaches the ground floor. In the elevator, Will meets other people who have died in a shooting, all due to the third rule. Once someone shoots another person and they get revenge, the cycle neverendingly continues. Sometimes the poetry is part of the art, which I enjoyed observing. The pictured helped me visualise the story more, but the poetry wasn't that impressive. It was one of many examples where someone pressed the Enter key many times and called it 'poetry.' The conclusion is open, as it's unclear whether Will will get revenge or break the third rule. I hope he chooses the latter.
Score: Seven points out of ten.
This version of Long Way Down circled my recommendations for a while and when I saw this in a library I visited, I immediately wanted to pick it up. Soon enough, I did and then I read the Long Way Down adaptation, but not before glancing the blurb. Despite being heavy, this story was enjoyable, leaving me wondering what the original text is like.
It starts with the first character I see, Will, whose last name remains undisclosed with his brother Shawn, when someone shot him, and no one reported on it. That is all according to the rules: don't cry, don't snitch and, most prominently, get revenge. Thus begins Will's quest to get Shawn's gun and shoot the shooter but he gets on an elevator and has to wait until it reaches the ground floor. In the elevator, Will meets other people who have died in a shooting, all due to the third rule. Once someone shoots another person and they get revenge, the cycle neverendingly continues. Sometimes the poetry is part of the art, which I enjoyed observing. The pictured helped me visualise the story more, but the poetry wasn't that impressive. It was one of many examples where someone pressed the Enter key many times and called it 'poetry.' The conclusion is open, as it's unclear whether Will will get revenge or break the third rule. I hope he chooses the latter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent
Full trigger warnings: Gun violence, death of a father in the past and a brother, blood, grief and loss depiction
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very poignant graphic novel. I'm still not sure whether I'd like to read the long-form book, but this book absolutely challenged my beliefs. I wish the book had done more to challenge or explain why you have to live by The Rules, because I found myself quite frustrated by that . This was likely the point and I just don't get it, and maybe this is explained in the original book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Chronic illness
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Drug use
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wow wow wow. this was so heartbreaking. the art style was the best part in my opinion. it was absolutely beautiful and added to the story. i just wish we got more of a resolution to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first graphic novel adaptation I've ever read that I've actually liked. I don't know if it's because it's also the only time I haven't read the original novel(I've heard of it and I know what it's about, but I've never read it) or if it really is just that good, but I was blown away by the quality. In my mind, there's three things that go into a good graphic novel adaptation: the art, whether or not it made use of the strengths of the visual medium, and faithfulness to the original.
Starting with the art, this book was drawn and painted in a beautiful watercolor style by Danica Novgorodoff. The softness of the art was a perfect contrast to the difficult subject matter, providing a cushion for the reader. When moments became sharper the art changed to reflect that, with some parts shown in stark silhouette or drawn as black-and-white sketches. I have nothing but compliments about the art, and I'm glad they didn't choose to go with a more traditional comics-inspired style, because I believe that would have cheapened the violence.
This book also made excellent use of the visual medium to enhance Reynolds's verse. When Will describes the territories in his neighborhood, the thoughts are scattered over a map taking up an entire two-page spread. Lingering effects reach from one panel into another, and silent panels provide a moment for the reader to stop alongside the characters and reflect. Monochrome vs full color is also used to great effect, signifying what's past and present, even as the time periods blur together in the same image.
I can't speak to the faithfulness of the adaptation, because as I said I haven't read the original novel. I did peek at the preview on Amazon, and recognized much of the text. From what I can tell, my conclusion is that this adaptation is different — particularly, the addition of some dialogue to the graphic novel version — but not necessarily unfaithful. I'll leave it to others who have read both to judge for certain, though!
Starting with the art, this book was drawn and painted in a beautiful watercolor style by Danica Novgorodoff. The softness of the art was a perfect contrast to the difficult subject matter, providing a cushion for the reader. When moments became sharper the art changed to reflect that, with some parts shown in stark silhouette or drawn as black-and-white sketches. I have nothing but compliments about the art, and I'm glad they didn't choose to go with a more traditional comics-inspired style, because I believe that would have cheapened the violence.
This book also made excellent use of the visual medium to enhance Reynolds's verse. When Will describes the territories in his neighborhood, the thoughts are scattered over a map taking up an entire two-page spread. Lingering effects reach from one panel into another, and silent panels provide a moment for the reader to stop alongside the characters and reflect. Monochrome vs full color is also used to great effect, signifying what's past and present, even as the time periods blur together in the same image.
I can't speak to the faithfulness of the adaptation, because as I said I haven't read the original novel. I did peek at the preview on Amazon, and recognized much of the text. From what I can tell, my conclusion is that this adaptation is different — particularly, the addition of some dialogue to the graphic novel version — but not necessarily unfaithful. I'll leave it to others who have read both to judge for certain, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder