Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaung. We're going to wrap up back-to-school

week with a couple books that are relatively new to school reading lists. In a bit, we'll hear

from author Angie Thomas talking about her book The Hate You Give. But first, an interview with

Jason Reynolds talking about his 2017 book Long Way Down. It's a book about

loss, revenge, grief, and gun violence. And in this interview with NPR's David Green,

Reynolds talks about avoiding empty cliches when writing about the perpetrators of gun violence.

That's after the break.

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The writer Jason Reynolds has a new novel out this month. It focuses on a moment of decision

that occurs in an elevator where a young man is on his way to avenge the killing of his brother.

The novel is called Long Way Down and Jason Reynolds came by our studio.

I asked him first if he'd read a passage from the book.

I stuck the cannon and the waistband in the back of my jeans, the handle sticking out like a steel tail.

I covered it with my two big t-shirt. The name brand

hand me down from Sean. The plan was to wait for Riggs in front of his building. Me and Sean were

always over his house before Riggs joined the gang, and since then, Sean had been up that way a bunch of

times to get Mom special soap. I figured it would be safest if I went in the morning. If I timed it right, none of his crew would be out yet. No one would ever suspect me. I'd hit his buzzer, get him to come down and open the door. Then I'd pull my shirt over my mouth and nose and do it.

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