With clear language and bracing honesty, Jason Reynolds’s young-adult novels grapple with thorny issues (alcohol abuse, gun violence, police brutality) in contemporary urban settings, offering a subset of readers a literary mirror they’ve never had before. Last fall, the D.C.-born writer tackled a new form—the novel in verse—with Long Way Down, which follows Will, a 15-year-old boy dealing with the shooting death of his brother. The book hit the New York Times best-seller list and was a National Book Award finalist. Reynolds followed up this spring with the poem “For Every One” and the middle-school-age novel Sunny.
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Fast Company: You’ve said that you draw from real life in creating your characters. Who inspired Will?
Jason Reynolds: When I was 19, I lost a dear friend to murder. The pain was so heavy, I was certain that I could have taken a life and been okay with it. I think that America has a tough time speaking about anger honestly, and young people don’t know how to relate to their anger in a healthy way. If it wasn’t for my buddy’s mother begging us to leave it alone, I’m not sure I’d be talking to you right now.
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