OCTOBER 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator Dion Graham conveys Justyce McAllister’s depth of character and inner conflict. The African-American honor student’s life is changed when he is the victim of racial profiling, police brutality, and wrongful arrest. Graham at first registers Justyce’s confusion and shock. With equal believability, Graham depicts Justyce’s anger and trauma at experiencing racism at his mostly white prep school. To better understand his emotions, Justyce begins a journal, a series of letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. In his entries, Graham reflects Justyce’s isolation, suffering, and occasional moments of solace. Then, a terrible string of events occurs. Graham voices Justyce’s reactions of disbelief, disgust, and, finally, hope in this powerful journey of self-discovery. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
The New York Times Book Review - Catherine Hong
Nic Stone's powerful debut…packs an impressive spectrum of characters and viewpoints into 210 fast-paced pages: from Manny, the son of wealthy black professionals who tells Justyce he's being overly "sensitive" and confesses that he's "scared of black girls," to SJ, Justyce's civil rights-crusading Jewish debate partner (and guilty crush)…The smart, soul-searching Justyce is a hero readers will enjoy rooting for.
Publishers Weekly
07/31/2017
First-time author Stone explores an African-American student’s increasingly intense feelings of displacement in his predominantly white high school in a tense story that will grab readers’ attention and make them think. Written as a mixture of script-style dialogues, third-person narrative, and letters to Martin Luther King Jr., the novel explores high school senior Justyce McAllister’s confrontations with racism and his search for identity at a prestigious prep school, where he is one of only eight black students. After nearly getting arrested while trying to help his ex-girlfriend, who’s “stone drunk” and trying to drive herself home, Justyce becomes acutely aware of racial profiling and prejudice close to home. Pushed to the brink of despair when a close friend is shot by a white off-duty police officer, Justyce doesn’t know what to do with his anger. Though some characters are a bit one-dimensional (including Justyce’s debate partner/romantic interest and the interchangeable bros at his school), this hard-hitting book delivers a visceral portrait of a young man reckoning with the ugly, persistent violence of social injustice. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Dear Martin:
A New York Times Bestseller!
A William C. Morris Award Finalist!
An ALAN / Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Finalist!
A 2018 BookExpo Editors' Buzz Selection!
An Indies Introduce Selection!
A Kids' Indie Next List pick!
“A powerful, wrenching, and compulsively readable story that lays bare the history, and the present, of racism in America.” –John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down
"Painfully timely and deeply moving." –Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Raw and gripping." –Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down
"Absolutely incredible, honest, gut-wrenching. A must read!" –Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give
"Teens, librarians and teachers alike will find this book a godsend...Vivid and powerful." –Booklist, Starred Review
"A visceral portrait of a young man reckoning with the ugly, persistent violence of social injustice."
–Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
09/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—Justyce is an African American teen caught between two worlds. He knows that the education he's receiving at a private school will grant him more economic opportunities, however he begins to question the effects his private school education on his own identity. Some of his classmates believe that the racial pendulum has swung too far, giving African Americans an unfair advantage over their white counterparts. The kids he grew up with believe Justyce has assimilated too much and has forgotten where he came from. He questions his blackness, his relationship with his biracial girlfriend, and his attraction to his white debate partner Sarah Jane. Through a series of journal entries, Justyce attempts to figure out his place in the world by exploring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. A violent altercation between a retired white police officer and his best friend causes Justyce to examine what it means to be an African American male in 2017. The length and pace of this well-written story make it a perfect read for reluctant and sophisticated readers alike. The main characters are well balanced and will resonate with teens. However, the voice of African American women is largely absent from the narrative. The characterization of Justyce's mother and his girlfriend are one-dimensional compared to some of the other protagonists. Still, this important work should be read alongside Jason Reynolds's and Brendan Kiely's All-American Boys and Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down. VERDICT An good choice for school and public libraries.—Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH
OCTOBER 2017 - AudioFile
Narrator Dion Graham conveys Justyce McAllister’s depth of character and inner conflict. The African-American honor student’s life is changed when he is the victim of racial profiling, police brutality, and wrongful arrest. Graham at first registers Justyce’s confusion and shock. With equal believability, Graham depicts Justyce’s anger and trauma at experiencing racism at his mostly white prep school. To better understand his emotions, Justyce begins a journal, a series of letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. In his entries, Graham reflects Justyce’s isolation, suffering, and occasional moments of solace. Then, a terrible string of events occurs. Graham voices Justyce’s reactions of disbelief, disgust, and, finally, hope in this powerful journey of self-discovery. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-08-07
In this roller-coaster ride of a debut, the author summons the popular legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. to respond to the recent tragic violence befalling unarmed black men and boys. Seventeen-year-old black high school senior Justyce McAllister, a full-scholarship student at the virtually all-white Braselton Prep, is the focus. After a bloody run-in with the police when they take his good deed for malice, Justyce seeks meaning in a series of letters with his "homie" Dr. King. He writes, "I thought if I made sure to be an upstanding member of society, I'd be exempt from the stuff THOSE black guys deal with, you know?" While he's ranked fourth in his graduating class and well-positioned for the Ivy League, Justyce is coming to terms with the fact that there's not as much that separates him from "THOSE black guys" as he'd like to believe. Despite this, Stone seems to position Justyce and his best friend as the decidedly well-mannered black children who are deserving of readers' sympathies. They are not those gangsters that can be found in Justyce's neighborhood. There's nuance to be found for sure, but not enough to upset the dominant narrative. What if they weren't the successful kids? While the novel intentionally leaves more questions than it attempts to answer, there are layers that still remain between the lines. Though constrained, the work nevertheless stands apart in a literature that too often finds it hard to look hard truths in the face. Take interest and ask questions. (Fiction. 14-18)
