CW: racial profiling, police brutality, incarceration, domestic abuse, mention of sleep paralysis, anxiety and depression

I have been a huge fan of Nic Stone’s novel Dear Martin and while I didn’t expect for there to be a sequel (or companion novel?), I was excited to get the chance to revisit these characters. However, this book isn’t as much about Justyce as it is about Quan, a boy with a very different life.

Right from the beginning, the author explains why she decided to write this book. As much as Dear Martin had quite the impact, the more readers Nic Stone met, the more she realized that a lot of people don’t get the same chances and opportunities as Justyce. There are people who feel trapped with a label that got stuck on them early on and like there is no escape from a future as a delinquent. People who are often at the wrong place and the wrong time and have no one in their corner. And they, too, deserve for their stories to be told and will hopefully see themselves in Quan’s experience.

Reminiscent of the format in the first book, we still have a bit of a mixed media style going on (letters, prose, etc.) and I found that specific writing style very engaging. It keeps the story flowing at a nice pace, without every getting confusing with timelines and so on.

Often, I am drawn to stories where characters need to find their family, their people, because for whatever reason their home life isn’t it. There might be a lack of support or an abusive environment the character will try to escape, but I rarely considered that finding a family – because you so desperately want someone to look out for you – can also end in a bad way. Quan makes some stupid choices, but once you hear how he went from one bad situation to another and at some point you are just done, you can’t help but feel for him and root for him. I was so happy to see that he had people in his corner, that truly only had his best interest at heart, even when he didn’t think he deserved them going to bat for him.

I appreciated Nic Stone’s letter to the reader and author’s note so much. She really put a lot into this book and I like that the she acknowledged how much of it is fiction and how Quan’s case would have probably ended differently in real life. But a lot of the story is about how we need to belief in people and let the know that we do, how it creates hope and a mindset that there can be a difference – that’s why I am glad the book ended the way it did! I think it will help create more open minds and hearts as well, as we all can believe and support the people around us!

Dear Justyce is just as raw and real as its predecessor and can easily stand on its own. It easily shows how different experiences can be, but how far a little support can go. I hope that it will encourage people to reach out to those who struggle and prevent things from escalating the way they did for Quan.

Fazit: 5/5 stars! I think I liked this better than Dear Martin (not that they are really in competition though).

This book was incredible. IT's going to be a must-read going forward and I can see a lot of awards talk in it's future.

Nic Stone's stories are exceptional! Right on the heels of Dear Martin this companion novel takes up where Dear Martin left off although this book can definitely stand on its own. Quan's struggles are like so many other's struggles where staying out of a gang and making the right choices is almost impossible especially based on your circumstances. This book tells the story of Quan's life both in and out of the court system. Letters to a childhood acquaintance, Justyce, depict Quan's thoughts and the realities of being a young African-American male in some areas of our country. This is a must read. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"As Quan looks around, he knows that his life has gone the way of this playground: once bright and bouncy and filled with ways to take flight (both real and imaginary), now beat down and broken. Hopeless."

"Most of the decisions they made- especially the ones that landed them in detention- were rooted in desperation."

Dear Justyce may not be a happy read, but it is a powerful and hopeful read. I thoroughly enjoyed Dear Martin, but I think I enjoyed this sequel even more. Quan's life is hard; he had little support, and few people that truly believed in him. His hard situation led to some life changing and heart breaking consequences. Quan's life and his choices is tough to read, but at the same time the good that came, and the people he found that supported and believed in him was moving and inspiring.

Read Dear Martin first, but then definitely read this one and the Author's Note at the end. Nic Stone wrote another fantastic book, and her final words moved me.

"But I think we can change that, dear reader. No matter how young or old you are, we all have the power to positively impact the people around us before they get to the point Quan did. Sometimes, all it takes to bring about a shift in direction is knowing there's someone out there who believes you're valuable. That you have something positive to offer the world."

Rating: 4/5 stars
Best For: 12 and up, those who like diverse reads and read Dear Martin first.
# of Pages: 288
Clean Read: No. There is language and violence.
Worth a Check Out: Yes.
Read Aloud: Possibly, for the right middle school classroom after the first book in the series.

Just when you thought Nic Stone couldn't top Dear Martin, she publishes Dear Justyce. Well-written novel that follows the plight of a young African-American male that lacks positive societal supports. He watches the neighborhood he lives in slowly disintegrates before his eyes. He struggles to be the man of the house after his father is incarcerated and his step-dad's negative influence on his family. This book points out the issues young men face in our country. What can we do about it and how can we make them be treated fairly? Nic Stone writes from the young man's perspective to figure out why he went down for a crime he didn't commit. This should be in every classroom across america. This book gives us social issues to talk about.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for review.

I loved Dear Martin, so I was very excited for the companion book about Justyce's friend, Quan. Like Justyce, Quan is a smart dude in a hard living situation. He does well in school, but some think he cheats. Where can he find people who support him?

He finds his "family", though they care for each other in unconventional and not-so-legal ways. Quan ends up in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Will he stay in if it means snitching? How will Justyce help him do the right thing.

2 years ago I read Dear Martin. Things were bad then regarding police brutality. They've only become worse. Read Dear Justyce and take in this information so we can change the injustice in our country.

I’m very sorry, I had intended to read this book as I loved the authors Dear Martin book. However, the pandemic is effecting my mental health in a way that reading books dealing with racism just is not feasible for me at this time. I have no doubt the book is phenomenal and I look forward yo reading it when my mental health is in a better place.

While I enjoyed Dear Martin I absolutely loved Dear Justyce. The format the book is written in is so unique. A combination of letters, memories, and other’s POV this heartbreaking story of a young boy left to fend for himself and ends up with a family who ultimately will cause his undoing. Quan’s time spent in prison is raw, unfiltered, and desperate. The things you might actually see when a teenager is accused and wrongfully convicted of murdering a police officer. Quan’s story is the story of many. Relevant in today‘s world and poignant to stop and make you question your life.

This is a fantastic and necessary companion to Dear Martin, and I am so grateful to Nic Stone for her work. Here, we see a different story—of a black boy without some of the advantages we saw in Nic's first book—but full of the same hope, warmth, and leap-off-the-page voice.

Nic Stone has done it again! Wow! Quan May find himself in trouble, but Justyce may be able to help. Amazing book following Dear Martin! So relevant to world happenings. Innocent until proven guilty should reign true.

Nic Stone has done it again. This is such a beautiful follow up to Dear Martin. I was blown away by how real this book feels. I think it's a perfect read for high school and even college aged students.

A powerful and engaging follow up to "Dear Martin." It wrapped up a bit too quickly and neatly but was still very satisfying.

Nic Stone's return to Justyce's story did not disappoint. She masterfully crafts a narrative that feels way too much like nonfiction. Thankful she shared Quan's story with us.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Crown Books for Young Readers, and Nic Stone for the opportunity to read Dear Justyce in exchange for an honest review.

Dear Martin follows Justyce in his pursuit of equal rights as he writes letters to Martin Luther King that help him express what is going on in his life and the way African-Americans are still being treated.

Dear Justyce is the sequel to Dear Martin and follows the story of Quan, a young African-American boy who just seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Quan met Justyce when he was a child, making his escape to the local playground rocket ship on nights when he just couldn't be at home. His family was not exactly ideal after his father's arrest. Justyce so happened to find solitude in the same rocket ship, and the boys soon became friends.

Quan is very bright, but society doesn't exactly have faith in him. He's Black, so he must be a cheater, a liar, and a thief. When a long-term substitute accuses Quan of cheating on a math test in middle school, a test he studied and studied and studied for, the rest of his life seems to spiral downhill as people lose faith in him, and as he loses faith in other people.

Getting mixed up in the wrong crowd brings Quan to be wrongfully arrested and to serve time for a crime he didn't commit. The majority of the story is told while Quan is in jail, reflecting through snapshots and flashbacks the events that lead up to that point. Another aspect of the story is told in letters as Quan writes about his experiences and past to his friend Justyce, who happens to be attending law school. Justyce clearly sees the INjustice of the whole scenario and begins his own plan to help Quan out.

This book shows just how unjust the system can be to people of color and how racial stereotypes can affect a person's assumptions and actions for the worst. Nic Stone has a nice blurb on her research in the back of the book. While this book is fiction, it represents real scenarios that young people of color may face in today's world, more often than not.

This is a beautiful book that really feels raw and real. Books like Dear Martin and Dear Justyce should be taught in schools to demonstrate just how warped the judicial system can be, and to help young people eradicate bias and racial stereotypes.

Nic Stone's author note says it all when she says the hardest thing about telling this story was "knowing the most fictional part is the support Quan receives." The entire time I read this, all I could think about was how different life would be for countless young people in the United States if they had a support system. Even Quan, although he connects with a solid support system while awaiting trial, could have gone down a completely different path if he had that kind of support earlier on. (Spoiler incoming)

There were big things that went wrong for Quan, but there were so many tiny ways society let him down, too. Imagine, for instance, if when Quan's math teacher went on maternity leave, the substitute who replaced her was as supportive as she had been instead of being actively the opposite. How different could things have been? This book shines a light on so many of the ways we as a society have let each other down. It shines a light on our broken criminal injustice system, as Justyce refers to it, and how badly it needs to be improved.

Nic Stone is brilliant in exposing privilege and giving pointed ways in which to improve upon it. Quan is in jail for a crime he did not commit, but because of his race, he isn't given proper care in the handling of his case. Much like Justyce finding his way in the world, Quan seeks affirmation in Justyce and an unbreakable bond forms.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random Children’s House for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, I’m going to try to put into words how I feel about this book. That is going to be hard to do because this is possibly one of hardest yet most engaging books I have read all year. So I don’t know if I can properly do this book justice but I do know it deserves my best attempt. This isn’t a book based during the time of the civil rights movement at least not the one in the 50’s or 60’s, it takes place today in our present day reality. Stone gives voice to those who are too often unheard because of their skin color, economic status, education, lack of support and legal representation. Forcing us to think about the systems where kids, despite doing everything in their power to follow the rules and structures set before them, still fail because the system continues to remove everything that they may need to continue on a path to success. Due to systemic racism many kids who need more help or support than others will be discarded and considered a lost cause from the start.

Quan experienced all of that and more. Though many would say his path was predetermined they would be wrong. Here is a young man that wasn’t born to be a member of a gang and eventually incarcerated. Nor did he plan or understand that he struggles with PTSD from his father's arrest. His mother remarried an abusive man, making him the protector to his younger siblings. But once his stepfather is no longer an issue he is faced with a debt that he can never repay. In that moment Quan’s life, the one he had little control over, completely stops being his own and belongs to the gang that now owns him. After an officer is shot, Quan is arrested but he enters a plea of not guilty. But will that make any difference for this black, gang member. Maybe in this case Justyce will prevail.

The most revealing and sad truth about this fictional story is that it is true for so many young men of color. But so many do not have a Justyce by their side. Dear Justyce is a book that should spur us all into further action for all of the kids whose ending will not be okay if we continue to turn a blind eye. As children they shouldn’t have to rely on a system that doesn’t see their excellence. This is by far one of the best books I have read this year and I highly recommend. Although this isn’t a title I can purchase for my middle school library as an active librarian I will ensure it is purchased at my public library. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Don't miss author Nic Stone's latest title following characters already introduced. Strongly drawn and realistic portrayal of timely social justice challenges within a community.

Excellent! I loved Dear Martin so had high expectations and this did not disappoint. Characters were well developed.

“Dear Justyce” is a heartbreaking but hopeful novel that should be required reading for every educator in America. I know Quan: I see him in the hallways of my school, I see him in the seats of my classroom; today I saw him on the front page of my local newspaper.
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Quan and Justyce are friends who bonded one night after they both found shelter away from their homes on a local playground. Justyce, the Ivy League protagonist of “Dear Martin,” is writing to his old friend Quan, who should also be in college, but is instead behind bars at a youth detention center.

Through flashbacks and letters, we learn that Quan is a smart kid who never had the opportunity to flourish due to institutional forces beyond his control.. There were many moments that make me cringe at the adults who should have helped Quan, but none more than a substitute teacher who accused Quan of cheating, catapulting Quan’s journey on the school-to-prison pipeline.

Overall, this novel makes me question my own educational practices and assumptions and I will share with every educator I know. Quan and every student deserves so much better from us and I’m thankful to Nic Stone for shining a light on the children whose stories often go untold.