Welcome to the second week of January 2026! We are delighted to welcome Leilya Pitra's teacher candidate student, Allie McCauley, from Southeastern Louisiana University as our Weekend Picks contributor this week.
 | Meet Allie McCauley. She is a secondary English Education major beginning her residency semester in January 2026 (yes, right about now!). She is from Central, Louisiana, just outside of Baton Rouge. Allie enjoys reading realistic fiction, romance, and historical fiction. Outside of school, she works as a part-time RTI teacher, tutoring students in math, reading, and writing, and also serves at a restaurant. In her free time, she loves baking, playing with her dog, and spending time with her family and friends. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she plans to teach middle or high school English. Stay tuned for more contributions this month from Southeastern Louisiana University students! |
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The book, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, is a young adult literature novel published in 2017. I was given a choice of two novels for one of my methods courses, and I decided to read this novel. To me, it was a great choice.
 | The book follows the story of William Holloman and him dealing with the death of his brother Shawn and what actions he must take next. The book takes place in the outside of William's building in the neighborhood, his room he shared with his brother, and the elevator in his building. The main characters include William, Shawn, and his mother with other characters he meets in the elevator. The central conflict of the book is William’s next steps in what he has to do after Shawn’s death and whether or not he chooses to take the life of who he thought killed his brother. The plot is overall engaging and well-paced. On each level of the elevator, William meets a new person on those who have played some sort of role in his life. It is not predictable because the reader can never guess who is going to appear next on the elevator to help William on his journey. The characters are well-developed. |
When each character gets on the elevator, they reveal their backstory and how they died. It gives William moments to reflect on what he has to do. Every character’s backstory is different for each character, but they all connect into the same idea of the cycle of violence and how it impacts generations of families and communities.
Through these encounters, William begins to question the “rules” he has been taught about revenge and what it truly means to honor his brother’s memory. Personally, I do not find any of these characters relatable. However, they are realistic and meaningful to the story. Each one represents a different perspective on grief and retaliation, showing how pain and loss can shape a person’s choices.
The language of the book is poetic. Reynolds writes in shorter, concise lines. He gets the thoughts across all of his characters very thoroughly. His book reads like a big piece of poetry with the reader knowing exactly what the characters are doing, except for ending, where readers are left thinking what may happen next.
| The author explores the themes of grief, loss, and revenge. They are very impactful for William’s story. He has to deal with the loss of his brother, but many other people in his life who he didn’t fully realize made such an impact on him. It reflects the cycle of violence that they are constantly living in and William has to decide whether or not to take part in it. He experiences so much grief in conflict about what to do in his situation about whether or not to seek revenge for his Shawn. All of the themes impact the story in a meaningful way that shapes William’s choice. I loved this book! It was interesting from the very first page because of the way Reynolds wrote it. |  Jason Reynolds |
It wasn’t your typical lengthy paragraph to convey a story, but short lines that got the point across and helped you imagine what you would do if you were in William’s shoes. While I did not really have any expectations for this book, it by far exceeded what I thought it would be. It was so heartfelt and it seemed I felt exactly what William had been thinking and going through.
The only unexpected moment was the ending. I wanted more. I wanted to know exactly what William’s choice was with having to take an educated guess. I think any reader would enjoy this book, especially students in our public high schools in Louisiana, who may connect with the characters on personal levels.
The other book that I can compare it to is All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. This book focused on the story of Rashad and Quinn following a police brutality incident. Both of the stories put a male black character as their main character and tell their story about life and the challenges they are facing. Both are great books that give an insight into what it is like to be a young black male living today’s society. As for comparing it to the same genre of young adult literature, this book does tell the story of a young adult. Like many young adult literature novels, it conveys a story of a person trying to navigate their way in the world or trying to deal with whatever problems they are facing.
Overall, I would recommend this book. It was really interesting for me to read and I was never sure what or who was coming next. While I do wish the ending would have been more, it was such a great graphic novel. The pictures paired well and really helped me visualize what William was going through. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The only unexpected moment was the ending. I wanted more. I wanted to know exactly what William’s choice was with having to take an educated guess. I think any reader would enjoy this book, especially students in our public high schools in Louisiana, who may connect with the characters on personal levels.
The other book that I can compare it to is All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. This book focused on the story of Rashad and Quinn following a police brutality incident. Both of the stories put a male black character as their main character and tell their story about life and the challenges they are facing. Both are great books that give an insight into what it is like to be a young black male living today’s society. As for comparing it to the same genre of young adult literature, this book does tell the story of a young adult. Like many young adult literature novels, it conveys a story of a person trying to navigate their way in the world or trying to deal with whatever problems they are facing.
Overall, I would recommend this book. It was really interesting for me to read and I was never sure what or who was coming next. While I do wish the ending would have been more, it was such a great graphic novel. The pictures paired well and really helped me visualize what William was going through. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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