Stone, Nic Dear Martin,
210 pages. Crown (Random House), 2017.
$18. Content: Language: R (100+ swears; 15 “f”): Mature Content: PG;
Violence: PG-13
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Justyce is a good student
who has beaten the odds of his poor neighborhood, is going to an upscale high
school and has been accepted into Yale. One
night while trying to help his intoxicated ex-girlfriend into her car a
policeman misunderstands Justyce’s intentions and violently arrests him. Justyce’s outlook on life and what it means
to be black is shaken and he becomes more aware of the prejudices around
him. When Justyce’s friend is killed in
a racial altercation, Justyce has to find the strength to carry on, be true to himself
and avoid the pull towards gang violence.
This book is very well done. Nic
Stone addresses a lot of the issues that are in the headlines right now
regarding race. I like how this book
explains the talking points through a class discussion because it allows for both
points of views to be examined. Justyce
is a great character that is easy to love and it made me more empathetic
towards his concerns and his hopes. I
wish the swear count was lower, because for as short as this book was it had a
ton of language that wasn’t necessary and it would have been easy to recommend
as essential.
Reviewer, C. Peterson.
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