Pair Downsiders with Ibi Zoboi’s novel My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich (2019), and compare Ebony-Grace’s attitude toward New York City with that of the Downsiders. Why do they each view the city as threatening? How do they manage the danger? How are the resolutions similar?

In J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, the teen protagonist, Holden Caulfield, thinks of himself as a catcher in a field of rye, saving kids before they fall off a cliff. In Downsiders, Talon, Railborn, and Gutta catch “fallers.” Do they save people, too? What other elements do The Catcher in the Rye and Downsiders share? How does the Downside’s view of the Topside differ from or resemble Holden’s view of other people?

Research New York City and its history. In what ways is Downsiders’ portrayal of the city accurate? What does it distort?