Dear Martin by Nic Stone: Blogger Reads

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Sometimes it takes a few tries before you can get something right. In this case, it was picking a book for June. Back when we posted in March, we said that our June book would be The Glass Hotel. Then for a very good reason (I don’t remember what it was, but I know it was a good one), we switched to The Jetsetters. But then Anne read The Jetsetters and felt meh about it. Coincidentally, I had been putting off reading The Jetsetters because I had been hearing “meh” things about it.

So finally we landed on a book that we had both heard of and heard good things about. And luckily, we had just enough time to read it.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

TWO SENTENCE SUMMARY

Dear Martin follows Justyce, a Black high school senior who is at the top of his class and bound for the Ivy League, but still can’t escape the racist that surrounds him. After finding himself in handcuffs, Justyce begins writing letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for inspiration for how he should continue to act in his life.

WHAT I LIKED MOST AND WHAT FRUSTRATED ME

What I liked most about this book was the writing. Everything just felt so realistic and the characters really jumped off of the page. I never felt like the writing was too cheesy or something felt unrealistic. Every single person in this book felt true to life, as did each of the scenarios.

What frustrated me the most while I was reading this book was the impending sense of doom I felt while I was reading it. Like I just kept waiting for the next bad thing to happen. I wanted to keep reading, but I was afraid to keep reading at the same time. Luckily, once I knew that the sequel (spoiler) was about one of the other characters writing to Justyce in college (aka Justyce was going to make it to college alive), it was a little easier to finish reading it. But gah, it was so hard to read at some points.

FAVORITE QUOTE(S)

Yeah, there are no more “colored” water fountains, and it’s supposed to be illegal to discriminate, but if I can be forced to sit on the concrete in too-tight cuffs when I’ve done nothing wrong, it’s clear there’s an issue. That things aren’t as equal as folks say they are.

You ever consider that maybe you not supposed to ‘fit’? People who make history rarely do.
Nic Stone, Dear Martin

You can’t change how other people think and act, but you’re in full control of you.
Nic Stone, Dear Martin

RECOMMENDED FOR

If you loved The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, or anything by Elizabeth Acevedo you’ll especially enjoy this one as well.

Also, if you’ve been interested in reading more books along the lines of the Black Lives Matter movement, but non-Fiction isn’t your jam, this would be a great place to start. I’ve always been a firm believer that books (whether fiction or non-fiction) are a great teaching tool and Nic Stone is an excellent teacher. Her next novel in this series, Dear Justyce is also coming out this Fall, so it’ll be a great follow up.