‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence

2025-09-19 · 15 min · 9 entities

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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence The final episode
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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence The final episode in our Back to School
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Entities found in this episode

books 4

mentioned A Long Way Down book

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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence The final episode
mentioned The Hate U Give book

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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence The final episode in our Back to School
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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence The final episode
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‘Long Way Down’ and ‘The Hate U Give’ are modern classics about gun violence The final episode in our Back to School

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Episode description as stored

The final episode in our Back to School series focuses on two contemporary books that tell stories about gun violence. First, Jason Reynolds’ 2017 novel in verse Long Way Down centers on a moment of decision that occurs when a teenage boy is on his way to avenge his brother. In today’s episode, Reynolds speaks with NPR’s David Greene about avoiding one-dimensional characters and promoting literacy. Then, Angie Thomas’ 2017 debut The Hate U Give is about a girl who attends school in a neighborhood that’s very different from where she lives. In an interview with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Thomas discusses codeswitching and combatting the “ghetto girl” stereotype. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy