Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Fifteen-year-old Will steps into an elevator, a gun in his waistband and vengeance in his heart. His brother Shawn has been shot dead, and the rules of the neighborhood demand revenge. But as the elevator descends floor by floor, ghosts from Will’s past — each connected by violence — step in to confront him, forcing him to question everything he’s been taught about loyalty, justice, and grief. Told in sharp, rhythmic verse that unfolds over the course of sixty tension-filled seconds, Long Way Down is a haunting portrait of loss and the impossible weight of decisions made in the name of survival.