Details

Length: 208
Story Build: Quick
Character development: Solid
Age Recommendation: 7th/8th (with parent knowledge) and up Reasoning: language; mention of sexual moments; violence; students are in 12th grade; underage drinking 

Review

So many of my kiddos chose this book for a social comprehension unit in my 7th grade ELA classroom this year. I had a copy at home, so during this quarantine, I decided to read it. I had heard great things, loved the authors on the front cover that commented, and I knew it had been praised by my students who had read it.

I read it in 24 hours. 

Dear Martin is… here’s the funny thing; I can’t say it’s terrific or awesome because 1) those words don’t do it justice and 2) the topic is not one that would evoke those words. With that said, though, Dear Martin is timely, relevant, and exactly what those other authors on the front cover said— raw, gripping, powerful, wrenching, a must read. 

My students are finishing reading All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, and many decided to read this because Reynolds is quoted on the front cover. While both books deal with the same topics of racism and privilege, Nic Stone creates an insightful and brilliant narrative with her character Justyce’s quest to be more like Dr. Martin Lurther King Jr. 

Her writing style is unique– switching between third person narration and first person diary entry letters from Justyce to Dr. King. She also will write dialogue between many characters as if it were a script, which allows the reader to focus solely on the conversation, the powerful words spoken. 

One of my kiddos, on a Zoom call recently (the way we are able to connect in this current time), asked me, “Mrs. Carroll, did you get to the part where Jared said that thing… about college? How awful is that?” 

I think Stone is able to make her dialogue more powerful by focusing just on what is being said. It’s bold and different and powerful. 

Anyway, I thought I knew what this story was going to be about. But I was mostly wrong. 

Justyce is a student at a prep school who works his butt off. He has an off and on again relationship with a girl, who dubbed by his best friend, is bad news. The best friend, Manny, is like a brother to Justyce, and Justyce spends many weekends and week nights at Manny’s house. They are finishing up their senior year with the hopes of Ivy leagues in the future. 

However, one night, Justyce has a run in with the police, which sends him on a journey of discovery. Frustrated by the way he was treated during a complete misunderstanding, Justyce begins writing letters to Dr. Martin Lurther King Jr. in the hopes of understanding the way in which Dr. King approached issues of racial inequality. 

Through these entries, Justyce works out his own inner turmoil about the ways in which he should handle himself and address the injustices in America. The reader is able to see him struggle with what he should do and what his place is in all of this. 

Meanwhile, Justyce must also deal with this growing feelings for his classmate and close friend, SJ. Manny encourages this relationship, but Justyce knows his mother will have a problem with SJ. SJ is white. Justyce knows his mother is wrong with this treatment of his friend and possible romantic partner, but he isn’t sure how to handle this either. 

Justyce is also juggling Manny’s friends, too, who attend the prep school with them. While they are sort of friends with Justyce, he begins to see how these teens use racial jokes and slurs as if they are normalized; but in reality, Justyce feels angered by them and wonders why Manny feels okay with them. 

These emotions hit an all time high when a tragedy strikes Justyce’s world. 

Suddenly Justyce begins to question everything he has been writing to Dr. King and what he has discussed with classmates, Manny, and SJ. He isn’t sure what the right actions or words are, and he must figure out what makes sense for him to do. 

Stone does not shy away from discussing all topics that come up with issues of race — racism, white privilege, affirmative action, violence, racial slurs, certain vocabulary etc… I think that is what helps make this book as raw and as gripping and as powerful as it says on the front cover. It’s real. 

I think Stone’s novel will make readers think and therein lies the power of this text. You want the readers to walk away with questions about what is fair in the world, where do you fit in with the issues that are raised in the book, and how you can help make humanity more equal, more compassionate, more open to the blindness that has caused so much inequality to continue.

Celebrations

I have to celebrate the way in which Stone wrote the text. Again, the dialogue component was so purposeful. The way she switched into a different style allows the readers to really focus on the conversation among the characters, and these conversations are around some of the largest issues in the text. It’s so well done and powerful.

Hesitations

None. Seriously. My only hesitation is if you haven’t read the book… THEN READ IT 🙂