"Striving for goodness when the world has you down as bad"
May 2018 Debut of the Month | One of our 2018 Books of the Year
Picture this. You’re an honors student with a top university in your sights. You work hard, and you follow your mother’s advice to always put your best foot forward. So how come, when you help a friend in need, you’re man-handled by the police and arrested? How come the cops tell you that they “know your kind...Just couldn’t resist the pretty white girl who’s locked her keys in her car, could ya?” As Yale-bound African American Justyce knows only too well, “things aren’t as equal as folks say they are”. At every turn he’s caught between worlds: a white classmate attributes his success to positive discrimination, while he’s accused of being a race traitor by some of his black peers.
He airs this elemental conundrum with SJ, his debate partner: “white people hold most positions of authority in this country. How do I deal with the fact that I DO need them to get ahead without feeling like I’m turning my back on my own people?” And what’s he supposed to do when he falls for SJ and his mama’s dead against him dating a white girl?
As the compelling, gut-wrenching story unfolds, Justyce writes a journal to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. to work through his thoughts, vent his frustrations and to ask what Dr King would do in his situation. Then a tragedy strikes that threatens to disarm Justyce’s pledge to do as Martin would do.
Important, timely and unforgettable, this powerful exposé of racism, injustice and the injuriousness of profiling articulates the persistent everyday battles faced by thousands of kids in Justyce’s shoes with scorching lucidity. Quite simply, everyone must read this poignant punch-packer of a debut.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOKS EVER The revolutionary debut novel about a young Black teen grappling with racism and police violence-and what it all means for his future.
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An honor student. Always there to help a friend.So why is he the one in handcuffs?Despite leaving his rough neighborhood, Justyce McAllister can't seem to escape the scorn of his former peers or the attitude of his new classmates at Braselton Prep.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Dear Martin and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Dear Martin features in the following genres: Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Gritty Reads, Recommended Children's eBooks, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Romance / Relationship Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for Young Adults
Paperback, CD-Audio. Not Available.
Dear Martin was written by Nic Stone and published by Crown Books for Young Readers an imprint of Random House Children's Books
Dear Martin has 256 pages
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