Review: Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 17th, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Trade

Format: Physical ARC

Pages: 224

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Summary (from Goodreads):

Justyce McAllister is top of his class, captain of the debate team, and set for the Ivy League next year—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. He is eventually released without charges (or an apology), but the incident has Justyce spooked. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood, he can’t seem to escape the scorn of his former peers or the attitude of his prep school classmates. The only exception: Sarah Jane, Justyce’s gorgeous—and white—debate partner he wishes he didn’t have a thing for.

Struggling to cope with it all, Justyce starts a journal to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But do Dr. King’s teachings hold up in the modern world? Justyce isn’t so sure.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up. Way up. Much to the fury of the white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. And Justyce and Manny get caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it’s Justyce who is under attack. The truth of what happened that night—some would kill to know. Justyce is dying to forget.

Dear Martin is a story about a black teen and his experiences with racial profiling and police brutality/violence. His run in with the police makes him deal more with things that he could previously kind of ignore because it hadn't happened to him. He starts to pay more attention to police violence in the media and racist actions by his peers. He is also inspired to study the teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and start trying to be more like him.

Going into this book, I was expecting an important story on racial issues. But it's so much more than that. It's frustrating, it's heartbreaking, it's enlightening. It's amazing how much story can be packing into a mere 200 pages! It was so real. I sat down to read this book, not expecting to read the whole thing in one go (I mean I was sitting on a chair piled with laundry. It's not the comfiest reading spot in the world), but I couldn't put it down! And the ending is so hopeful.

This book is told through 3rd person narration and bits and pieces are told through news articles or Justyce's letters to Dr. King. And there are a few instances in the book where there are long conversations going on (debate class/phone calls) and it's written out in kind of a script form. I really liked that. It was super easy to follow along with and easy to tell who is saying what.

I liked the romance in this book. I kind of wish we got to know more about Melo, Justyce's on-again-off-again girlfriend in the beginning of the book. She seemed like she would have been fun beyond the context of her relationship with Justyce. But the main romance is the budding relationship between Justyce and his white, Jewish debate partner, SJ. I liked SJ. She wasn't afraid to speak up about things that were unfair and she wasn't afraid to yell at her classmates about their racism.

Seeing how their relationship grows is interesting because a combination of things get in the way. For one, it seems like everytime (okay, it was once that I remember) Justyce and SJ start talking more beyond regular friendship levels, Melo comes running back. And then Justyce is unsure (uncomfortable?) with his feelings toward SJ because his mom has always been against the idea of him getting involved with a white girl.

Overall, this book was real and needed and really good. It's eye-opening for sure and I hope that I did the book justice with this review. I have yet to read The Hate U Give (SOON!), but according to Goodreads reviewers, if you liked that book then you need to read this one. I would definitely recommend everyone to pick this book up in October when it releases!

Have you gotten the chance to read this one yet? Are you looking forward to it?