Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Written by Jason Reynolds

Narrated by Jason Reynolds, Heather Alicia Simms, Chris Chalk and 7 more

One of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2019!

UK Carnegie Medal winner
A National Book Award Finalist
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019
A Time Best Children’s Book of 2019
A Today Show Best Kids’ Book of 2019
A Washington Post Best Children’s Book of 2019
A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book of 2019
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019
A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019
“As innovative as it is emotionally arresting.” —Entertainment Weekly

From National Book Award finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds comes a novel told in ten blocks, showing all the different directions kids’ walks home can take.

This story was going to begin like all the best stories. With a school bus falling from the sky. But no one saw it happen. They were all too busy—

Talking about boogers.
Stealing pocket change.
Skateboarding.
Wiping out.
Braving up.
Executing complicated handshakes.
Planning an escape.
Making jokes.
Lotioning up.
Finding comfort.
But mostly, too busy walking home.

Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and brilliantly weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781508246206

Jason Reynolds

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a 2024 MacArthur Fellow, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu, and Coach); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Stuntboy, In-Between Time; Miles Morales Suspended; Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...; and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

Reviews for Look Both Ways

[Meg Rice · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like Jason’s books because the characters and life situations ring true every time, they connect with my heart and life experiences, and the friends who voice his characters breathe life into them. I won’t stop till I’ve read everything he has written.

[Katelyn Hildebrant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book wa so good. It’s a reminder of the good things in life, and helps show us the bad we don’t know about. I loved how a different person narrated each chapters

[infjsarah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second children's book that my reading group picked for the summer. I preferred this one although it is aimed at younger children.

[jennybeast · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clever, strong writing, super relevant to your average urban middle schooler/upper elementary kid. I love the mix of stories, the repeating imagery, but man, I really can't handle the boogers. There are SO MANY things going on in here: parents with cancer, sickle cell, friendships, elementary school kids being kids, grief, skateboarding, obsessive behavior, just LOTS.


advanced reader's copy provided by edelweiss.

[ftbooklover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ten interconnected chapters told as one story of a group of middle school students as they deal with real world problems in their everyday lives. Jason Reynolds uses realistic dialogue and unique descriptions to bring the characters and their stories to life. Lyrical language makes for some interesting reading interwoven into stories about life from cancer to overcoming a fear of dogs. Overall, a very enjoyable read. 4 1/2 stars.

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One day, on this particular day, school lets out. Kids walk home from school. This book is a collection of ten stories, each about what happens to a different little cluster of kids on their walk home from school on this particular day. There are little hints of interweaving, and inter-contentedness between them, though they are largely independent tales. Some a little funny, some a little sweet, some a little sad; all ten, excellent. Jason Reynolds is a master storyteller.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A short story collection that examines the window of time after school on a specific day for a variety of characters and friend groups at a school. It was fun to be able to pick up connections between chapters and the people within the story. One story that particularly was the Low Cuts.
I would have loved a map of the neighborhood around the school included in the book. A school bus, school bus falling from the sky is a thread through the stories and the last chapter helps to wrap up this connection well.

[patsymurray · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I finished reading the book, the word that came to mind was "cozy." It gave me an overall warm feeling of affection for these children trying to make their way in a world filled with the sort of everyday tribulations that can loom large at any age. I also thought it masterfully well-written, with the metaphor of the school bus woven throughout the book in a way that reaches an amusing and touching finale in the conclusion.

[kodonnell-440231 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is a funny illustrated view at the end of a school day where different kids are wrapped in their own little worlds. Their stories are revealed and attract empathy from the reader. It is a book definitely directed towards a young audience, and could be used in a younger English class. It would be a fun refreshing read because of how the stories are broken up, and teaches a good lesson on understanding that everyone has problems and reasons for their behavior.

[riofriotex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ten short stories about the after-school activities of ten groups of kids walking to ten different city blocks all served by the same middle school. Some of the stories in this 2020 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book made me cry.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In ten short stories, we meet a variety of kids who live within ten blocks of their school. The bobbing and weaving of the ten narratives, connecting to the whole. The neighborhood as touchstone. Characters flitting in and out throughout, like passing in the street or in the halls. Friendships felt authentic, tight.Richly metaphoric and descriptive language, humor and warmth.

[froxgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This series of brief and poignant linked short stories, set in an African American neighborhood, smoothly and humorously shares how middle school boys and girls deal with: boys with crushes, girls with crushes, moms and dads, scary dogs, moms with cancer, scary teachers, crossing guard moms, weird school assignments, and best candy ladies. Some kids travel between the blocks and the cliques and some stand alone. Each character is realistically portrayed, and somehow they are all refreshingly clear of cell phones and social media. The blue-black illustrations are a bonus. The best story is one where a boy with a crush is taken in hand by his friend, who brings out all her lotions and unguents to deal with his ashiness but uh oh, what's the Vick's Vaporub doing there? Big fun here, a great read for old and young heads to enjoy together.

[amandabock-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this. Only giving 4 stars because short stories always make me want more.

[lindamamak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How a simple walk home from school can define you

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Seriously, Jason Reynolds can do no wrong. Every book is a freaking masterpiece. Ten blocks. Ten stories. Ten more reasons to fall in love with Jason Reynolds. School may end when the bell rings, but that's when these stories start. Kids talking about boogers, trying to steal change, skateboard home, write the best jokes, plan escape routes, face their fears, and stand up to bullies. Each story is different, but little pieces from one story may end up in another, and another, and another and together they tell a bigger story; the story of how a group of students, a few blocks in the city, and the vivacity of youth can weave together the brightest community. Loved it!

[lflareads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jason Reynolds has a way of weaving stories together with the reader finding connections from the heart with the characters. The characters each have their own challenges and although they do not see each other, you do notice connections in changes in setting. Look Both Ways is unique in that the stories take place at the end of the school day as the character’s walk home, but each block has a different set of characters and story.

I was granted an advance read copy and rate Jason Reynolds as one of my favorite YA and MG authors. Look Both Ways is a middle grade option, which reminds me more of the Track series.

[jothebookgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is a collection of 10 stories linked by time and place. In each of 10 stories, kids You meet kids from the neighborhood and from their school day.

The collection is said to be filled with, pathos, and the heroic struggle to grow up.

I recognize Reynolds as a great writer, but his style just doesn’t appeal to this reader. I’m not a fan of magical realism which he inserts in the book.
I read the first three stories and decided to move on.
Ages 10-14

[foggidawn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The bell rings. The school doors burst open. Students scatter in every direction. But what happens in that space between school and home? Jason Reynolds knows -- or imagines -- ten different answers in this book of loosely connected stories.

There's plenty of heart here, and humor. Kids will see themselves in this book, and that's fantastic, and makes it worth purchasing and recommending. But for me, I wanted things to come together somehow in the end, and they just didn't. I think it's the nature of short stories -- I wanted more from all of them. If you enjoy short stories about funny, diverse, complicated kids, this is a book worth perusing.

[donnamariemerritt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a great book for elementary and middle grade students! Ten stories, ten walks home from school. Each connected in some way (school bus falling from the sky?). We never really know anyone until we walk in their shoes—and this book is a way to do that.

Aside from the wonderful storytelling, I do lament the loss of copyeditors. On page 8, a sentence is broken in the wrong way. On page 10, there are no beginning quotation marks. Let's invest in the excellence of books once again and hire some proofreaders!

But those minor typos do not detract from this book and its marvelous images:
*His voice was a "set of wind chimes in a hurricane"
*"looking at her like she was an exotic fish in a sandwich bag"
*"every house looked like the last house, like a choir of homes dressed in the same robes"

My favorite story, the one that made me cry? "The Low Cuts Strike Again"

Jason Reynolds, your voice rings true.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

*E-ARC received from Edelweiss/Above the Treeline in exchange for an honest review. No money or other goods were exchanged, and all views are my own.*

Ten blocks - and ten tales revolving around teens who live on those streets - give you a kaleidoscopic mosaic of one neighborhood, one school and the many lives that intersect.

Jason Reynolds is fast becoming one of my favorite current writers for middle grade and teen readers. He has a way as an author of just presenting a story without judgment, a way of telling his readers he hears them and leaving them to make their own tough decisions. This book is one of the more complex of his - heck, of most books for this age group - that I've read, and I feel like I have to reread it to fully do it justice. The repeated motif of a school bus falling from the sky makes absolutely no sense until the end, for example. And there are so many characters whose lives intersect that I want to make sure I catch all the nuances and references. Excellent writing that will appeal to a wide age range.