The novel ends on a cliffhanger, as Will debates whether to follow the rules, like all the ghosts before him, or to make another choice for himself. When the elevator stops, Shawn asks Will, “You coming?” (306). Will is confused but loves his brother so deeply-it hurts to see his brother’s grief.

He won’t talk to Will, but he cries, breaking The Rules. Then Will’s father enters and puts a gun to Will’s head, trying to show his son what it feels like to be the victim of a random murder.įinally, Shawn enters the elevator. He forces Will to consider the long-term consequences of his actions, and what it would look and feel like to kill another man. Dani asks an important question: “ What if you / miss?” (142). She was Will’s childhood crush when Will was eight years old, he watched Dani die of a gunshot wound from a drive-by shooting on the playground. Buck is the person who gave Shawn the gun. He tells Will he isn’t tough enough to kill Riggs. The first visitor is Buck, Shawn’s street mentor. But then a series of ghosts appear in the elevator, each with a connection to Will’s past. Will sneaks out past his sleeping mother the next morning and gets in the elevator to kill Riggs. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, Jason Reynolds moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Instead of crying for his brother, Will finds Shawn’s gun in a dresser drawer and decides to kill Riggs-the Dark Sun gang member he believes killed Shawn. Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. Will sets the scene, describing his neighborhood, the relationship he and his neighbors have with the police, and the basics of The Rules: no crying, no snitching, revenge. Shawn is shot by someone in the Dark Suns gang while picking up special soap for his mother’s skin condition. The book begins as Will Hollomon, a 15-year-old boy living in a poor neighborhood in an unnamed city, witnesses his brother Shawn’s death.

Jason reynolds novels