And that I would have been able to go home that night and sleep like a baby. I'll never forget the next day, being at his mom's house, overrun with anger and having to admit to myself that in that moment, I was fully aware that we could all leave that house, go in search for whoever we think may have done this, and end their lives. I was 19, I got a phone call at two o'clock in the morning from one of my best friends, who informed me that another one of our best friends was murdered.

On his own experience of pain and revenge One, that young people who engage in this, especially the back and forth, the revenge, that there is a fearlessness, that these young people are sort of without feelings, without emotion, that they're cold as ice, right? The truth is that everyone who's ever been around anyone who has been in these environments knows that the people who pull the triggers are terrified.

NPR Ed Thinking Of Leaving Home? Here's A Bit Of Advice From Young Adult Authors you're, like, 'Whoa, my entire life could have changed.' ' 'When you start to sort of work through those things and you come back to reality. 'I'm grateful that we didn't do the thing that we thought we were going to do,' Reynolds says. Those rules ring true to Reynold's own experience: At 19, one of his best friends was murdered, and he considered revenge himself. 'There's a code of conduct, and what those rules are is number one, no crying, number two, no snitching, and number three, always seek revenge.' 'Will is growing up in a community where there are certain rules,' Reynolds says. It happens in an elevator - teenaged Will is on his way to take revenge for the murder of his brother, but his plan is interrupted by a few visitors on the way down to the ground floor. Jason Reynolds' new novel Long Way Down is focused on a moment of decision. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Long Way Down Author Jason Reynolds

Long way down by jason reynolds