So I’m going to try to put into words how I feel about this book, but I’m not sure if I can properly do this book justice… Nic Stone shoves us into present reality, forces us to think about the systems where kids despite doing everything in their power to follow the crazy rules and structures we have set up for success, still fail because the system continues to remove everything that kept them going. And not always by design but sometimes just by happenstance because that’s how cruel the circumstantial racism can be; that kids who need us more than ever are dismissed and discarded without a thought. And then when a child fails because of our efforts, we turn around to discuss how we always knew they would. I am wrecked by this book and the truths that it continually confronts us with that was never hidden but we, White people, often refuse to see. Dear Justyce is a book that should spur us all into further action for all of the kids whose ending will not be okay without us. Who shouldn’t have to rely on a system that doesn’t see their excellence. One of the best books I have read in years. Preorder now for its October release. #pernillerecommends

"What was he supposed to do?
...good in school
got him a cheating accusation and in school
suspension
...his very best
wasn't ever good enough.
...what he could
felt as limited as his hands did in the cuffs."

Author Nic Stone, gives a voice to a story seldom heard yet completely prevalent in our society. Readers will empathize quickly with Vernell LaQuan Banks who despite his best efforts falls into a stereotype created well before him. Through flashbacks and deeply personal letters, Nic Stone creates a well developed character in LaQuan. Readers will own his struggle and root for his success, as they begin to understand the depth to Quan's story and the events that led to his detention. Dear Justyce is a powerful novel that will grip readers from the first page.

Nic Stone does an excellent job capturing what life is like for a black, male, teen struggling with family, poverty, and the systematic oppression of a neighborhood. Quan, much like Justyce, is a smart young man who excels in school until one event after another limits his ability to strive. Quan eventually gets locked up in a juvenile detention center and begins to write letters to his friend who is away at college studying law. He reveals his innocence to his friend, who decides to help life him up out of his circumstance (along with several other characters) and eventual get him released. While this story has a happy ending, unfortunately for many other black youth that is not always the case. I highly recommend Dear Justyce and it’s prequel, Dear Martin. Ms. Stone has done a fabulous job in taking a horrible event in the life of one kid and turning it positive.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of Dear Justyce.

Dear Justyce was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. The first book in this series, Dear Martin is a staple in my 8th grade classroom, and I can't wait to add Dear Justyce to the mix this school year.

Nic Stone hooked me right from the start with the author's note in Dear Justyce. On the surface, the main character, Quan seems so different from his friend Justyce. Then Quan begins to tell his story and it becomes clear that while the circumstances are quite different, many of the feelings Justyce shared in Dear Martin, Quan experiences too. This book is a realistic, gritty look at the life of a kid who wants to succeed but finds the cards stacked against him.

This series should be required reading in middle and high schools. This is also a great read for teachers with so much insight into young minds!

In the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times best-seller Dear Martin, Vernell LaQuan "Quan" Banks writes letters to his childhood friend, Justyce, from him jail cell. Quan has been incarcerated following his confession to a serious crime. While in jail awaiting trial, Quan examines the circumstances, choices, and subsequent traumas of his life that led him to his current situation.

Nic Stone masterfully conveys the complexities of trauma, systemic injustice, and the incarceral system within Black and brown communities. I don't know what else I can say about this book, other than it is important and brilliant, and everyone should read it.

THERE ARE NO WORDS. from the first page to the author’s note, this book is PERFECTION. so moving and gripping, a MUST READ for all people, but I think especially educators. What hit me hardest is the need for support in young people’s lives. This should be a basic right. I’m so emotional over this one. Quan really breaks my heart.

Nic Stone had me hooked in the beginning when she stated that this book was for all the readers of Dear Martin who wrote to her asking “What about us? Not all of us are as lucky as Justyce.” This book is about the many kids who don’t have the resources and support that every child needs. I was reminded of The Other Wes Moore. Please be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end. One of the things that stuck me was how Nic Stone explains that the hardest part of telling this story was “knowing the most fictional part is support Quan receives.”

This book is for high school, upper and middle school readers. I also think this book is an important reminder to teachers (or any adult for that matter) that we all have the “power to positively impact then people around us.”

I reread Dear Martin before beginning Dear Justyce. Blown away!! Nic Stone brings to light issues that all my students need to read about. Can’t wait to purchase for my high school library!

Having never read Stone’s previous work, _Dear Martin_, I was skeptical that I would enjoy this. I was wrong. While the characters have overlap, and this novel refers to things that happened in the previous, I felt it stood alone nicely.

I’m this, Quan is a young black boy who has been arrested for a murder he did not commit. The text goes back and forth between how he got to this point and the letters he’s writing to Justyce, the main character of _Dear Martin_.

I found the format really compelling. At first I didn’t understand that all of the text that wasn’t letters were flashbacks, but I think that added to my experience.

I read the author’s notes before and after the text, and the novel was inspired by two young black men who wrote to Stone saying that they loved _Dear Martin_, but wished she would write a novel about them—about boys who don’t have the supports and good luck that Justyce has in his book. Quan’s family and background are tough. He reflects a great deal about how he could have made different choices, and questions about whether or not he really could have done anything different. The reader is left with those same questions as well.

This novel should be on the shelves this fall with all of your other BLM works for young adults.

(Goodreads Review) ARC from NetGalley. 4.5 Teens will love this as much if not more than Dear Martin. You don't *have* to have read Dear Martin before reading this, but it's a direct continuation of characters and story, so it'll make more sense & increase your enjoyment of you have. You'll see updates on not just Quan but Justyce, SJ, Doc, and Jared, and on Quan's side, Martel, Trey, and Brad. I knocked of half a star because there's some weirdly abrupt plot explanation (especially the scene with Justyce, SJ, & Jared in car). The story is ultimately hopeful, and though you want it to be true, it's unfortunately not that believable, so I'm glad Nic addressed that in her note at the end. A great discussion book and class read for 8th - 10th ELA. This will definitely be on the next Project Lit list! I plan to get multiple copies for the library, because demand is going to be HIGH.

This book was hard to read and also hard to put down. Interesting to hear from Quan and see his life. Great authors' note included. I read this book in one sitting and gave it 5 stars

So thankful for NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Another compelling, powerful, relevant and thought-provoking novel by Nic Stone. It is a sequel to Dear Martin and would be best to read Dear Martin first but it could certainly stand alone. It was such a different story than Dear Martin and one that will benefit so many readers. The story takes place after the end of Dear Martin but is from the perspective of Quan, a black, teenage boy who is in a juvenile detention because he is thought to have shot a policeman. The book outlines his childhood, lack of opportunities, abuse and multitude of reasons he ended up pointing a gun a police officer. It shows how unjust our justice system is for people of color and how even kids who try to do all the right things are consistently fighting against a system that is set up against them. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I highly recommenced it for anyone in middle grades or older. This is a book that needs to be read and I can't wait to recommend it students, teachers and really everyone.

For me, this was even more powerful than Dear Martin. I think Justyce's story will resonate with my students, and it will make an excellent paired reading with This is My America or Just Mercy.

Honestly, I enjoyed this book even more than Dear Martin. Reading the authors note about how two boys asked the author to write a book that felt more real to their lives, I knew I was in for a heartbreaker. As a YA novel, however, this book did have a hopeful ending and wasn't too devastating to be enjoyable. This book is an absolute must read, even if you haven't read Dear Martin (although read that one too). The author in the end discusses how the most unrealistic part of the book is the amount of support the main character receives while in juvenile detention, and that is a disgusting truth of our criminal justice system. I read this book in one sitting and couldn't look away. The way the events of the main character's life unfold is masterfully done and I am very impressed by Nic Stone and her storytelling here. I will absolutely be including this novel and Dear Martin in my classroom library for students to read.

Quan is sitting in jail for murdering a cop. He meets regularly with a therapist to address his anxiety and PTSD, and completes school lessons with Doc. Quan also spends time writing to his childhood friend Justyce. As he awaits his trial and his fate, Quan analyzes how he came to be in this situation in the first place.

Dear Justyce is a compelling look at poverty-stricken African American youth and the all too common school to prison pipeline. Nic Stone does a phenomenal job with Quan's character development, making it clear how he (and other teens like him) end up in bad situations in their quest for belonging and family. While I think reading Dear Martin gives the reader more insight into Justyce's character and his role in Quan's life, it isn't necessarily essential to read it before reading Dear Justyce. I also think Dear Justyce might be more relatable to teen readers, many of whom identify more with Quan than they do with Justyce.

Amazing! I loved Dear Martin, but this one may surpass it. Beautifully written. I've seen Quan in my classroom too often. His story is one that is all to often overlooked. This is a must-read and definitely a 2020 award winner!

As a teacher I am always looking for “boy” books that show powerful and uplifting male friendships that do not uphold other tropes about marginalized groups and in this book I have found that and so much more. This book is a look at the implicit bias and the systematic racism in institutions that set young men and women of color up to fail in this world. It is not about asking them to “work harder because they need to work twice as hard to get ahead” but about changing a system that knocks them down from the first day of their life. The incarcerations rates in this country regularly separate young men and omen of color from the family they need and so they are forced to look for family and support elsewhere. Some are lucky enough to to find it at school or with other family members but many, like the protagonist Quan, find it with young men like himself who are hurt and beaten down and can’t possibly raise each other in the way they need because of the weights they are (sometimes literally) shackled with. I am happy to see Justyce again and the friendship between hm and Quan is beautiful. I look forward to sharing and discussing this book with colleagues and students alike.

I have been waiting to read this book since the moment I finished Dear Martin. I cried for Quan and his circumstances. The book took me back to the days when I worked in a residential treatment center. Their stories of being in catch 22 situations match Quan’s. It’s time we hear their stories and change the circumstances that put them in those situations.

I liked Dear Martin a lot. I loved Dear Justyce so much. This book also works as a standalone. The story allows readers to see and understand Justyce's life, story and how he came to be where he is at today. Nic Stone is magic with words.

Absolutely brilliant piece of work by Nic Stone. I loved the authenticity and rawness of Quan’s story. Nic wrote a truly moving story that compels readers to open their minds to understand cultures unlike their own. I have so much appreciation for how she tied characters from DEAR MARTIN to DEAR JUSTYCE. It’s a perfect example of how it takes all of us working together to make sure every child makes it.