Dear Reader,
You are about to read a precious letter to yourself and everyone around you. These words are meant to inspire, encourage, and uplift. As with all his writing, Reynolds, knocks it out of the park with this letter to himself...and everyone. This book truly is amazing and beautiful. I could not put it down and immediately ordered it for everyone important in my life. This book holds great power and I am confident that every reader will be encouraged by it.

I really liked the concept for this book. I even really liked the visual formatting and the writing style - I couldn't stop turning the pages until I finished. Overall though, it felt like it was missing something. I can't put my finger on it but as engaging as it was, it didn't capture me the way some other poetry does.

The writing is incredible. I especially like some of the physical metaphors. I love this book but I won't be buying it for my middle school. They just won't get it. There's nothing inappropriate, but they just don't know their dreams well enough yet. I will absolutely make sure my HS librarian purchases it and gives it to certain former students.

3.5 Stars

I'm a simple woman: I see anything by Jason Reynolds, I pounce on it.

This is a poem/letter for "dreamers" in the world. It's as much of testament of Reynolds' trials and errors as much as it is a call-to-action for the readers. The writing style is very clean and this probably only took me 10 minutes to read because it's barely over 100 pages and it's designed in a neat format on the page that plays around with font and spacing.

The only disconnect I had from this is that it's pretty surface-level. I'm sure to teens this book will be empowering, but I've read books and seen TEDTalks that are much more in depth than this. I give this book a lot of credit because I know Reynolds' story and I respect him so much as a person and what he's been through and what his writing stands for, and I know that his fans will find some great inspiration in this book, but it just wasn't groundbreaking to me.

I received this book for review from NetGalley & Simon & Schuster's Children Publishing.

I almost have no words for this. It's beautiful. Beyond that, it's inspiring and raw. This, like so many of his other works, will not disappoint. If you need reassuring, or encouragement to continue to fight for and follow your dreams, this is your book. If you need to extinguish the doubt growing inside of you, this is your book. If you're a person, this is your book. Because this book is For Every One. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. US. Jason Reynolds, in my opinion, for every reason possible, is one of the best authors of this generation's YA literature.

I will be buying this for my library & my personal collection. I will read it over and over again. I hope you feel the same.

Jason Reynolds could quite possibly be the best writer of our generation. He is so prolific and I've never read anything of his that didn't make me feel things and question things and all around I'm just mildly obsessed with his writing.

This book is so powerful for those who are unsure about anything happening in their life. I will recommend it over and over again. Quick read, must read.

Jason Reynolds is one of my favorite writers. His prose is always gorgeous and free flowing. He captures emotions so well! In this book/letter/poem he encourages the reader to follow their dreams. He acknowledges that he is not perfect and he didn't achieve his goals when he planned, but he persisted. Just as you need to to accomplish your goals. This is a pep talk everyone could use!

Blog post scheduled March 19, 2018
For Every One by Jason Reynolds. A poem. A nod. A nothing to lose.
Scheduled to be in bookstores April 10, 2018
With For Every One, Jason Reynolds makes dreams his primary subject, and the target audience is exactly what the title suggests: every one. “This letter is for us all, to remind us that we are many. That we are right for trying. That purpose is real. That making is possible.” More than anything, For Every One offers that most dangerous of things: hope. Hope to follow your dreams, hope to have the courage to be yourself and follow your own path.
Young adult novelist Jason Reynolds has become one of the freshest new voices in YA over the last few years. His novels All American Boys, The Boy in the Black Suit, Long Way Down, and When I Was the Greatest filled a gaping void in YA literature. These novels gave a voice to young black men. The main characters each faced their own crises; one was the victim of police brutality, another grieving for his mother who had died, one is considering getting revenge for a family member who was gunned down. All of the characters have some sort of a dream for the future, but each encounters an obstacle on the path to those dreams.
The theme of For Every One, or the letter, as Reynolds refers to it, is to ‘jump anyway’ even though you know that following your dreams can be tough, that it can seem to be impossible to overcome all the obstacles life throws in the way. There are those who tell you it won’t work, it won’t pay enough, you won’t be happy. More, there is a flame of self-doubt that will always linger inside yourself. His advice: jump anyway, and follow your passion.
Reynolds’ brief book in verse addresses teens and the middle-aged alike. “You might be fifty and think it’s too late. Jump anyway.” You can read the 101 page book in one sitting, even on a short train ride home on the afternoon commute. It’s the perfect pick-me-up after a bad day, or for inspiration and reinforcement in following your dreams in the face of continued obstacles.
Dreams aren’t just for the creative, Reynolds muses. They are for everyone, and everyone has a dream somewhere inside him or herself. “When it comes to my dream, the way I like to describe it is that it’s a rabid beast that found me when I was young,” Reynolds writes. “It bit me and infected me, but before I could catch it, it shot off into the darkness. Now I spend my life searching for it, hunting it down.”
Whether you catch the dream isn’t important. The reward is in the hunting. Reynolds admits in both the introduction and the letter that he’s not perhaps the best person to give advice on following your dreams, because his have eluded him. But the things he’s found on the journey have shaped him into the human that he is.
This is the perfect graduation gift for everyone, whether high school or college. It’s certainly more pertinent than the over-used to the point of cliche “Oh the places you’ll go,” by Dr. Seuss. It’s also perfect for anyone needing a push to follow their dreams, or those who have already started down the path in search of their dream. As Reynolds suggests, this little book can provide the light for a long and dark road. “If you are a dreamer like me, you jump anyway.”

"You Hope
the voice that
delivers the
loudest whispers
of what you envision never silences.
That it never cowers behind fear
and expectations that other people
strap to your life
like a backpack full of bricks
(or books written by experts)."

After astonishing us with his prophetic prose in the cautionary tale "Long Way Down", Jason Reynolds returns to motivate us with this love letter to dreamers and inspirational message to anyone who has ever had aspirations and goals. This book should be placed in the hands of every man, woman, and child because in between the pages of this short but powerful book lies a message for all. Thank you, Mr. Reynolds, for having such a beautiful way with words.

Beautiful. Everyone would benefit from reading this letter/poem of dreaming and jumping and persisting and accepting.

"Your dream is the mole
behind your ear,
that chip in your
front tooth,
your freckles.
It's the thing that makes
you special,
but not the thing that makes
you great.
The courage in trying,
the passion in living,
and the acknowledgement
and appreciation of
the beauty happening around
you does that."

Jason Reynolds, I love you.