"Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks" by Jason Reynolds- Book Review


Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds. Simon & Schuster. 2019.

Jason Reynolds’ book Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks is a collection of short stories told though the eyes of the many students who attend Latimer Middle School and take one of ten blocks to their home after school. 

Take Marston ST. for example, here best friends TJ and Jasmine walk side by side talking about…well talking about boogers. Together they walk chatting about what it means to be a booger. 

The Low Cuts: John John, Fancy, Trista, and Bit take Placer Street to Ms. Cece Cece’s house. There the kids use the change they stole that day to buy the best candy, then resell it in the nearby pool bar to multiply their investment. Sometimes they buy extra food in school with their earnings other days, like today, they buy ice cream for Bit’s mother to enjoy after her chemo treatment.  

Pia Foster rides her skateboard on Bastion ST. where she is sopped by a group of boys from Brookshire Boys Academy who are once again bulling Stevie Munson. Pia is pushed off her skateboard as Stevie watches. The skateboard is in pieces and Pia is beyond upset, this is the last straw for Stevie who decides to confide in his mom about his bullies. 

In Portal Avenue, Fatima Moss takes note of her what has changed and what is the same during her walk home, as the singing lady Benni asks her about how she will change the world.

Ty Carson collects flowers then takes Burman ST. to Bryson Wills’ house to see if he is doing okay after getting jumped for kissing him at school. 

Kenzi Thompson and Simeon Cross walk in Chestnut ST. Although, are different in stature one thing is true they are more than best friends they brothers, with a special handshake to prove it. 
Satchemo Jenkins anxiously walks on Nestle Street planning his escape from Ms. Adams’ nipping dog Brutus. 

After practicing her material in Miss Fran’s English class Cynthia Sower leaves Latimer Middle School and takes Southview Avenue to the comedy show she is hosting. With a joke writer like her grandfather she is sure to be a hit. 

Candance, Joey and Remy prepare their friend Gregory to ask his crush, Sandra, for her phone number in their walk on Rogers ST. 

Lastly, in the corner of Portal Avenue Canton waits for his mom Ms. Post, the crossing guard with his makeshift bus. Keeping an eye on her and everyone who walks by on their way out of Latimer Middle School.

Each of the stories in Look Both Ways are unique. However, most of the characters in the story know or know of one another. Because of this I would introduce Reynolds’ book in a middle school literature circle to better understand each individual story and notice their connections. As Jason Reynolds intended, Look Both Ways is a great book to get students to gain a little perspective and think about how the people in their community live.  

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