Characters
Will’s older brother who gets killed.
Shawn
The rule that says you can’t show emotion.
No crying
What Will plans to do because of the rules.
Kill the guy he thinks killed Shawn
How long the elevator ride is supposed to last.
60 seconds
The type of writing the book uses.
Free verse
The ghost who shows up first and tells Will the gun wasn’t really Shawn’s.
Buck
The rule that says you can’t tell the police anything.
No snitching
What Shawn did to Frick.
Shawn killed him
What happens every time the elevator stops on a new floor.
A new ghost gets on
Why the book reads so fast.
Short lines and quick pacing
Will’s childhood friend who died from a stray bullet.
Dani
The rule Will thinks he has to follow after Shawn dies.
Get revenge
What Frick did to Buck.
Frick killed Buck
What the elevator symbolizes for Will.
Being trapped in the cycle
What the short lines help show about Will.
His stress, panic, and racing thoughts
The guy Shawn killed, which Will didn’t know at first.
Frick
What the three rules basically create in the neighborhood.
A cycle of violence
Why the cycle keeps going in Will’s neighborhood.
Everyone follows the same rules without questioning them
The item Will is carrying the whole time.
Shawn’s gun
A poetic device the author uses to make moments hit harder.
Repetition (or imagery)
The last ghost to enter the elevator.
Shawn
The moment Will starts questioning the rules.
When the ghosts start showing up
The moment Will realizes revenge might not fix anything.
When he sees how every ghost is connected to another killing
The question the book ends with.
“You coming?”
How the writing style makes the story feel more real.
It sounds like how a real teen would think in the moment