Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Libro.fm for the review audiobook copy of Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds.

I didn’t think I liked short stories. Until I met this book.

Look Both Ways is a collection of 10 short stories, told by different middle schoolers that all attend the same school. Going in I wasn’t expecting to FEEL as much as I did. But the experiences and back stories were more moving, deep, and rich than I could have expected and while some of the stories made me laugh out loud, others made me choke up and have to hold back tears. And they all tied together so beautifully to give you a bigger picture than a single story would have afforded.

AND in the audiobook a different narrator performs each of the stories, which made the whole experience even more rich and wonderful. I definitely recommend this one, and you can grab the audiobook by clicking the button below, or get a physical copy here.

Synopsis:

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.