Dear Justyce (Dear Martin #2) by Nic Stone

Published: 10/29/2020

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult/Teen/Social Justice

Pages: 196

Review: library ebook

Amazon

In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times bestseller, Nic Stone delivers an unflinching look into the flawed practices and silenced voices in the American juvenile justice system.

Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, though, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University . . . and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center.

Through a series of flashbacks, vignettes, and letters to Justyce--the protagonist of Dear Martin--Quan's story takes form. Troubles at home and misunderstandings at school give rise to police encounters and tough decisions. But then there's a dead cop and a weapon with Quan's prints on it. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure.

So I finally got to read and finish this book. I checked it out previously, but it was missing pages in the ecopy I borrowed. Wow, what a powerful story, and even though the story is fiction, there are parts within the story that you see are truly a way of life for people that have no choice to make the choices they do. I would have loved to have more of what Quan was seeing day to day or week to week within the system as he was there, as that is where a majority of our timeline takes place. With Quan having connections, I felt that the organization would have had someone or others in the same organization within the detention center like Quan. We see how Quan's life is very different from his friend Justyce's. Quan has a difficult life even when he has tried again to make the right choices, do the right thing, and never give up; sometimes, that is not enough. What other choice do you have when being thrown roadblocks and a life of no one caring, it seems especially your own flesh and blood. You turn to a family that may or may not be good for you, and this is what happens to Quan when he finds himself making wrong choices. One choice is like a rolling hill of bad choices, and no matter the outcome, someone will be hurt. I liked how we got to see Quan change over time and realize that he doesn't have to be this big bad guy who doesn't show his feelings. I loved how Quan's friends never gave up on him, I mean his true friends and that they wanted him to be free and fought for it. I liked how the author brought up the differences between how things are different for black and white people and the trouble they get into. In the end, even though we are always taught, you are not to see the color of a person you have to. Why, because at the end of all things, that is what people see. They don't see a good and decent person; it is always a color attached to the person no matter if they are good or bad. It is just the way it seems things are. You have to see color to understand the struggles and life of other people. I am sure people will not agree, and that is okay. Many different parts of the story stuck out to me.

"Always take responsibility for your actions." "I know the potential consequences of what I do, and I choose to do it anyway, so if it comes down on me, I don't get to complain."

"Black Power is giving power to people who have not had the power to determine their destiny."

"Don't undervalue yourself by undervaluing your skillset."

The characters were great; the storyline was good; I just would have liked a bit more insight on the detention scene, as I stated before. 

Nic Stone was born and raised in a suburb of Atlanta, GA, and the only thing she loves more than an adventure is a good story about one. After graduating from Spelman College, she worked extensively in teen mentoring and lived in Israel for a few years before returning to the US to write full-time. Growing up with a wide range of cultures, religions, and backgrounds, Stone strives to bring these diverse voices and stories to her work.

You can find her goofing off and/or fangirling over her adorable little family on most social media platforms as @getnicced, or on her website: www.nicstone.info.