Look Both Ways cover art

Look Both Ways

A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

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Look Both Ways

By: Jason Reynolds
Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms, Chris Chalk, Bahni Turpin, Kevin R. Free, JD Jackson, Guy Lockard, January LaVoy, Jason Reynolds, Adenrele Ojo, David Sadzin
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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.
Anthologies & Short Stories Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Funny
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Critic reviews

"Ten African-American narrators read these ten interconnected stories, and their performances are uniformly excellent, bringing the cast of characters to vivid life. Listeners follow the varied adventures of students as they walk home from school. In 'Call of Duty,' read by Kevin R. Free, Bryson stands up for a boy who gets kissed by another boy at school; in 'Satchmo's Master Plan,' read by Guy Lockard, Satchmo devises an elaborate escape plan in case the new dog next door gives chase. Author Reynolds's vibrant language, delivered by the narrator ensemble with style, makes every situation and detail—whether funny, outlandish, sad, or tender—feel genuine, relatable, and full of heart. Reynolds reads the final chapter himself, a poetic conclusion that connects all of the threads in this perfect middle-grade novel."
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