Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds ill by Alexander Nabaum
Reynolds has penned a novel comprised of interconnected stories. Read independently they are insightful vignettes, zeroing in on the ten city blocks students attending Lattimer Middle School traverse each day. Collectively the stories reveal the hearts of those bound together by geography. The lives of these unique individuals intersect in unexpected ways. In the push and pull of everyday life, we meet students affected by life-altering events such as sickle cell anemia, cancer, dementia, incarceration, and gay-shaming. These ten blocks are jam-packed with a rich assortment of sensory details. "There's a smell in the air. A mix of exhaust and exhaustion. Also cooked food and cooked hair. There's a feel in the air. A stickiness like walking through an invisible syrup. A thickness to life. There's a sound in the air. A shrill and chill. The scream and whisper of the world making a symphony of so good and so what." |