Books in Order
Jason Reynolds Books in Order
About Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds (born 1983, Washington, D.C.) is a bestselling YA author and former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature (2020–2022) known for writing authentic, urgent stories about Black teenagers facing violence, grief, identity, and community in urban America. He did not learn to love reading until age nine, when he discovered poetry — and his fiction retains that poetic quality: lyrical, compressed, rhythmically precise. His novella in verse Long Way Down (2017) — 60 floors in an elevator, one minute, a loaded gun — is one of the most acclaimed YA books of the decade. He has won or been nominated for virtually every major American children's literature award.
New to Reynolds? Start with Long Way Down — a novella in verse you can read in one sitting that will stay with you for weeks.
Track Series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu)
Four teammates on a middle-school track team. Four voices. Four backstories. Each book follows one runner.
Book 1![Ghost]()
Ghost
2016
Start hereCastle "Ghost" Cranshaw runs from something — literally. A fast, funny, heartbreaking introduction to the series.
Get this book →Standalone Novels & Novellas
Long Way Down
2017
Best entry point / Printz HonorWill picks up a gun to avenge his brother. One minute. 60 floors. The people who died the same way fill the elevator. A novella in verse. Extraordinary.
Get this book →All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely)
2015
Co-authoredTwo teenagers — one Black, one white — after a police brutality incident. Alternating perspectives.
Get this book →Look Both Ways
2019
Ten short stories, all set on the same block, in the ten minutes between school and home. National Book Award finalist.
Get this book →Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
2020
Adapted nonfiction — a remix of Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning for young adults.
Get this book →Miles Morales: Spider-Man
2017
Miles Morales's YA novel. Reynolds wrote the official prose novelization.
Get this book →Frequently Asked Questions
What is Jason Reynolds's most famous book?
Long Way Down (2017) is his most critically acclaimed work — a Newbery Honor, Printz Honor, and National Book Award finalist. The Track series is his most commercially successful and beloved by younger readers. All American Boys (co-written with Brendan Kiely) is his most widely taught in schools.
What age are Jason Reynolds books for?
His books are published as YA (ages 12–18) but are widely read by adults. The Track series is accessible to middle-grade readers (ages 10+). Long Way Down deals with gun violence and grief and is more appropriate for older teens.
Does Jason Reynolds only write about serious topics?
His books deal with serious themes — gun violence, police brutality, poverty, grief — but they are also funny, warm, and deeply humane. Reynolds has said he writes books he wished had existed when he was young: books about Black teenagers where they are the full protagonists, not secondary characters.