Open your eyes to the plight of young Black men in America. Read this book. Nic Stone gives voice to young Black men who want to make good choices, who are from fractured families and neighborhoods yet end up incarcerated.

Quan is one of Justyce’s friends from Ms. Stone’s amazing novel Dear Martin. When Quan’s life is not turning out as expected, he begins to write letters to Justyce who is now a student at Yale. Quan’s story unfolds through narrative, flashbacks, and letters. It is tragic, infuriating, and heartbreaking. I am still weeping and trembling from the outrage I felt while reading this book. I will be recommending it to teens and adults as a book club selection. I will also recommend this to the teachers I work with and my adult friends. If they have any doubts about the justice system as represented in this book, I will guide them to Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson. I pray this book will be a catalyst for change. Thank you Ms. Stone.

My deepest gratitude goes to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Read through from start to finish in one afternoon. Nic Stone’s deft prose made me feel as though I was experiencing the events along with the characters. This book broke my heart and stomped on it. I recognize so many of my students within its pages. Eventually it lifted my heart a bit and I can say unequivocally that those of us with voices need to raise them for change in the juvenile justice system and its treatment of black children. I would highly recommend this book for middle and high school.

I think the only reason why I didn’t cry as much as I thought I would was only because I knew better what I was walking into with this book. There were still a lot of tears, even into the Acknowledgements. Nic Stone has this way of writing so authentically you can easily forget you are not reading a memoir. These are the kinds of books we need both adults and children to read. I don’t know how to write a cohesive review for this other than repeating how perfect it is. I have put it on the order list for both the bookstore and library that I work for.

Another angle of what is happening in our time. I couldn’t put it down. She shows that not everyone is as lucky to have the support system that is in other ya books of the current time.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I LOVED Dear Martin. When I saw there was a “sequel,” I couldn’t wait to read it, too! Even though it’s a vastly different story, Nic Stone did a brilliant job. Every person who reads this will ache for Quan if they have a heart. And hopefully that ache will push them to do something. What will I do?

Fans of Nic Stone’s Dear Martin will be thrilled by this follow-up, which is called Dear Justyce.

I think I liked even more than the first book and it might be Nic Stone’s best book to date!

Dear Martin followed Justyce, an academic star in his Atlanta private school, who starts to question many aspects of his life after being profiled and put into handcuffs by a police officer. Justyce talks about his frustrations in his letters to Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Dear Justyce, the letters are being written to him. The letter writer is Quan, who is the same age and is from the same neighborhood, but wasn’t presented with the same opportunities. Quan is writing Justyce from prison. Much of Quan’s story is told in moving flashbacks where Quan describes the first time he sees his dad arrested, his abusive step-father, and his attempts to take care of his younger siblings all the while trying to stay focused on his plans for his future. Which is hard to do when no one wants to support your goals and everyone seems to see you as a problem waiting to happen.

Quan is a character that readers need to hear from right now. Everyone is always ready to believe the worst, including his mother, who takes the word of a white substitute teacher that Quan cheated on the math test that he actually studied hard for. His story perfectly illustrates how systemic racism can challenge the lives and ambitions of African-American young men.

Just to be clear, Justyce and the other characters from Dear Martin will also be a significant part of this story so readers will get an update on their lives as well.

Nic Stone does it again. In a book written for the Black boys who "aren't like Justyce," Stone writes the captivating story of Quan, who appeared briefly in "Dear Martin." Honestly, I may have liked this one even more than "Dear Martin" -- it's so hard to say! I spent last school year pushing "Dear Martin", and I can't wait to promote "Dear Justyce" this year. Thank you, Nic Stone, for writing the stories that need to be heard.

In this sequel to Dear Martin - Nic Stone tells the story of Quan, who grew up just blocks away from Justyce, but whose life took dramatically different turns. As he sits behind bars, Quan writes letters to his old friend, Justyce who is attending Yale. Through these letters and flashbacks, readers see the choices and decisions (some his own and some out of his control) that lead Quan down a road that is filled with police encounters, violence, a dead police officer, and what looks to be a life behind bars.

Fans of Dear Martin will be clamoring for Quan's story this September (2020)!

Vernell Laquan Banks Jr. (Quan) writes letters from a detention center to Justyce McAllister (Dear Martin) while awaiting his trial for a police officer's murder. Quan and Justyce both held promise as young students in Atlanta, but Justyce now is off at a fancy college and Quan took quite a different path. While both were good young students, Justyce had support at home while Quan lacked a present male role model (one flashback depicts the arrest of his father while Quan watches). Quan's path is presented to readers though a series of alternating chapters about his childhood and letters he sends to Justyce, the only person on the outside that he feels will listen to him. To his credit, Justyce reads those letters and is firmly by Quan's side. On the outside, people will judge Quan for one bad decision after another. Many would say there is no hope for a kid like him. A closer look reveals that Quan's decisions, however, are made in an effort to support his young siblings and a mother who is stuck in a violent relationship. Is the deck so stacked against Quan that he has no hope?

THOUGHTS: Stone's novel carefully examines the inequities, especially for minorities, of the education and legal systems that are in place. A must have for secondary libraries and fans of Stone's other books as well as books by Tiffany Jackson, Jason Reynolds, and Angie Thomas.

"Dear Justyce" was incredibly moving and powerful. It really was the perfect sequel to "Dear Martin," highlighting the differences between the lives of Quan and Justyce. Both boys grew up in the same neighborhood and were smart kids, but the paths their lives took couldn't be more different. As Quan tells his story from a juvenile detention center in Georgia, he deals with PTSD, crippling anxiety, and the hopelessness that comes with his situation. With the right group of people in his corner, Quan is finally able to find his voice and tell the real story of what happened. As Justyce and his friends join forces to help Quan, can they overcome a system that has oppressed and violated the rights of the people it has sworn to protect?

I highly recommend this book! It is gritty and raw, but also timely and necessary. It opens a lens into a world where no matter how hard you try, the system is stacked against you. If I could give it more stars, I would.

Exerpt from Nerds and Beyond review:

Ultimately, 'Dear Justyce' is a story about survival, and Quan is a survivor. He seeks refuge where he can, doing whatever it takes to protect it and himself and his family. His anger and frustrations cause him to retreat inside himself, but eventually help him stay afloat in the detention center by giving him the space to work out what’s happened. Despite the heartbreaking circumstances behind Quan’s current situation, he doesn’t ever give up, even he if he wants to.

Stone’s previous books are hard hitters, but 'Dear Justyce' resonates differently. She writes a new voice with Quan — one that’s also entirely familiar but often isn’t amplified. She draws on experience from her own life, as well as experience from mentoring kids and teens (which she discusses in her author’s notes). That experience comes through in her writing. The book is imbued with nuances that will sit with you long after you finish reading. Stone offers deep insight into Quan’s mind. She creates a character that readers will be able to sympathize with, but more importantly, she offers a character many Black youth will finally be able to see themselves in, giving a voice to those who need it the most. Dear Justyce is a must-read for all ages.

Because Dear Justyce will not be released until September, I will withhold a full review. Readers of Dear Martin will appreciate Quan's story, learning more not only about him as a person, but Nic Stone's highlighting that many real-life teenagers today have stories like Quan's in our criminal justice system. While the book could be a standalone, it is a more complete as a sequel to Dear Martin as it is intended. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for access to this advanced copy.

I thought Dear Martin was a powerful novel. Ms. Stone's followup blows it out of the water. This is novel about a 16-year-old African American, placed in juvie for a crime he may/may not have committed, which also focuses on how the justice system failed him. Quan was trying to break free of a damaging cycle of family issues/gangs/domestic violence, only to find that he cannot escape.

How this was a fictionalized story blew my mind. The author gives a voice to a face and a name of someone who is just looking for a "positive connection" after his family has failed him. This book resonates with what is happening in today's society. Quan questions why he, as a young black man, is more severely punished than a white boy of the same age, who committed a similar crime and is patted on the head and told to make better choices. The one thing that motivates him to keep on going is his letters and connection to Justyce. This is one book that needs to be in school libraries and classrooms across America. Thank you for writing this novel!

I loved this book! Nic Stone did an amazing job of telling this story. It was authentic and real in a way that young people will appreciate. It was a story of hope and justice.

Excellent follow-up/companion book to Dear Martin! Definitely can stand alone, but better as a sequel. Felt like a junior novel companion to Just Mercy with themes of wrongful convictions, the prison system, and the cycle of incarceration that repeats itself in the lives and families of a disproportionate number of young black men. I enjoyed that Stone keeps this book hopeful, that Quan has several people who care about him, that there are strong, smart black characters that come together to help Quan. I also appreciate the focus on education as a path to success, especially all the great books mentioned. Readers will be swept up in Quan’s story, including reluctant readers, and will learn much along the way. Great book for discussion, classrooms, and families. Could definitely be a middle school—early high school read.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Quan and Justyce grew up down the street from one another in Atlanta. However, Quan ends up in jail while Justyce ends up at Yale University.

The story is told through letters, flashbacks, etc. and reveals Quans challenging home life and being accused of things he didn't do at school. A police officer is killed and a weapon is found with Quan's prints on it. However, Quan didn't do it.

This timely book reveals the need for criminal justice reform - and the fact that far more African Americans are incarcerated than any other race.

#netgalley #crownpublishing #criminaljusticereform #africanamericnincarceration #lovenicstone #dearjustyce

I didn't know what to expect when I started the e-galley of Dear Justyce that I received from NetGalley. I knew I had loved Dear Martin (and all of Nic Stone's other books), but I didn't know if this would live up to Dear Martin. Let's just say that I was blown away.

In Dear Justyce, Quan is serving time and writing to his old friend Justyce while he does it. As we see Quan's life go from his first meeting with Justyce to where he is, we can see and start to understand how he found himself on this path. This book is a must read and will definitely be a multi-copy purchase for my library.

After finishing Dear Martin, I was deeply moved by Justyce's story. However, I was still left searching for answers concerning a character so similar yet distinctly different from him: Quan. While his appearance in the first novel certainly wasn't its focus, it was nonetheless hard-hitting and impactful. He wasn't just a character but a representative of a very specific reality that so many black individuals in America currently live and/or will live, unfortunately. So while his appearance in Dear Martin wasn't front and center, I certainly found myself wondering about him after I finished book one. How could this boy be living such a completely different reality than that of his peers? His story's lack of closure left me unsatisfied concerning the character's overall story, yearning to learn more about not just his background but also his future. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised and excited once I heard about this unexpected sequel!

And boy did it deliver! If you loved Dear Martin to any degree, you will find yourself captivated by Dear Justyce. Though this story is fictional, it is a rampant reality in America that Stone records in the most thoughtful of manners. The extraordinary author does an amazing job of relaying this unfortunate reality to her audience in such a short amount of pages, grabbing readers attention and delivering a message incapable of being ignored. It is simply one of those stories that changes you a little more with every turn of the page. For some, it may help you feel seen. For others, it will show you things you were previously blinded to. Overall, it is a story that demands attention.

All in all, I commend Stone on her work and am absolutely eager to read more from her in the future. She is definitely an author to look out for and one that has now been added to my list of automatic-buy authors. If I could give this specific book of hers all the stars in the universe I would. I'm so thankful stories like this are being written and published, and I humbly pray it reaches the hands of those who need it most.

Quan and Justyce were childhood friends, but Justyce’s path has led to pre-law at Yale while Quan traveled the school to prison pipeline with a stopover in an arms- selling gang. Quan has confessed to a murder he did not commit, and as he and Justyce exchange letters, Justyce begins to see that there might be a way for Quan to be exonerated without implicating the others in the gang.

Receiving justice is just a part of Quan’s journey, though. The despair and deprivation that landed him in prison won’t go away just because he is innocent of this crime. How can he gain confidence and build a future full of hope? In the afterward, Nic Stone writes that the most fictional part of the book was the legal, educational, and emotional support system that forms around Quan - there’s plenty of food for thought for readers looking for the way systems need to change. Skillfully written, hopeful. A companion book to Dear Martin that stands solidly on its own.

This book serves as an incredible and timely companion to Dear Martin and I'm pleased to see both available as options to give to students. Both provide a look into the Black American experience, but the differences in support between Justyce and Quan are noteworthy, and both stories have important perspectives to tell.

Nic Stone does not mince the reailities of Quan's life, which will likely feel extremely harsh to some readers, but it never slid into gritty for gritty's sake, and instead builds a picture that is all too believable and realistic for many readers. I can believe that this was a difficult book to write, it was at times a difficult book to read.

I liked the integration of Justyce into this book, and appreciated how he started out feeling very far away - just a person in letters - but towards the end he is pulled more into Quan's life and becomes closer again. I appreciated the themes throughout the book on the importance of having someone who believes in you. It's a good reminder to me as an adult to state that I believe in student's abilities, because you never know whether or not they have that support at home, or if your unbelief will trigger further disbelief elsewhere.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as I did Dear Martin and together both books tell important stories that are well worth reading and investing in.