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by: Nic Stone
Recommended Age: YA Readers (13+ and above)
Lexile: 780L
Content Warning(s): child abandonment, domestic violence, gun violence, incarceration, murder, panic attacks, PTSD, racism
"An unflinching look into the tragically flawed practices and silenced voices in the American juvenile justice system.
Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, though, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University . . . and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center.
Through a series of flashbacks, vignettes, and letters to Justyce–the protagonist of Dear Martin–Quan's story takes form. Troubles at home and misunderstandings at school give rise to police encounters and tough decisions. But then there's a dead cop and a weapon with Quan's prints on it. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure." (book summary)
My Thoughts:
I read Dear Justyce as part of a social justice book club assignment. Because I had to think extensively about the social justice issues addressed and conduct in-depth analyses, it left me with a deeper understanding than if I had read the book on my own.
The format in which the book was presented was interesting, although occasionally confusing. Sometimes, there was a lot of switching between perspectives (there were too many characters at times, which made the conversations a bit muddled), but then it also stayed static with one distinct perspective. It took a while to understand the format, but it had little effect on the overall experience.
Although this book primarily focuses on disparities in the American juvenile justice system, it presents other critical issues (such as child abandonment, domestic abuse, and PTSD) that Quan and Justyce faced at an early age.
Stone's writing was straightforward yet powerful. Quan's letters to Justyce revealed his clear desperation to get out of his circumstances (a stark contrast to his surroundings). In the end, Stone left certain things unanswered, which I assume was done to encourage her readers to draw their own conclusions based on their own rationale and observations. This was an insightful, enlightening look at the injustices of the system, and will make you question your own biases and assumptions.
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