Dear Martin by Nic Stone
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
This book was one of those books that is not very long in pages…but is super deep in meaning and importance.
So even though it will not take you long to read it, what your brain and heart absorb within those pages will remain with you for long afterwards.
I have seen this book described with all these following words:
powerful, wrenching, raw, gripping, vivid, honest and incredible….
and I agree 100 percent.
This is a fictional story… but paints such a realistic portrait of the senior year of a black teenager in America….and how racism, stereotypes, and social injustices are not only alive and well …but THRIVING…in our governments, in our policies, in our communities, in our schools.
And it is damaging REAL precious lives EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Here is the official summary:
“Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can’t escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.
Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.
Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it’s Justyce who is under attack.”
The author of this book is a black woman…and I admit that I did not know this until AFTER I was finished reading the book and Googled her name to read some interviews. (I really enjoy doing that when I finish a read to gain more insight into the author’s perspective, vision and process….I very rarely will do so AHEAD of finishing the book JUST IN CASE there are a few spoilers!)
I was surprised to find this out because the way she describes the main characters thoughts, actions, and emotions I was FOR SURE she was a black man who lived a similar experience as a teenager.
The way she gave Justyce a voice was just SO realistic, in depth, transparent and genuine that it really did sound as if the author experienced these things herself…which– now that I am writing that I am realizing— even though she is a female, I am sure she DID on many levels.
Nic Stone wrote this book loosely based on the true events of several shootings of unarmed black teenage boys in our country. She wanted to write this book to “examine current affairs thru the lens of Martin Luther King Jr’s teachings.”
She is SUPREMELY talented in her writing in really making you FEEL what Justyce is feeling….fear, anger, frustration, confusion, heartbreak, excitement.
Like I said above, this book is not a super long read….but covers SO many important things.
There are regular teenage issues that are dealt with…. peer pressure, college application process, dating dilemnas, family drama, friendship tensions and school expectations.
But…. the author also addresses racial profiling by police, affirmative action, interracial relationships, assimilation into white culture, microaggressions, racial stereotypes, prejudice of many kinds, social injustice, violence against black bodies, and loss of innocent life.
After a traumatic event with police in the beginning of the book, Justyce decides to try his best to live his life the way MLK Jr would have. He begins a journal—written as letters addressed to him.
He struggles and goes thru pain as he tries to live out “What Would Martin Do” in this day and age…it is a tough journey with so much heartbreak and turmoil…but also joy and love as well.
I think this book is HUGELY important to read…for adults and young adults alike.
As a white person, I’m trying so hard to listen to and learn from voices and perspectives that are different than my own in as many ways possible.
And I want my kids to be doing that as well…I am purchasing this for my 13 yr old RIGHT NOW.
(I will say that YES there is profanity in this book and it is probably written for teens a smidge older than my kid, but I think the topics addressed are WAY MORE IMPORTANT than a few curse words here and there. That’s just me though…use your own discretion as a parent 🤷♀️)
I will tell yall I have struggled a little with this review….because I think this book is such an important novel for our times, I don’t think I can express my thoughts clearly enough.
My little ramblings and random thoughts that yall usually get just aren’t valid here.
I know I said it already…but I just want yall to know this book is POWERFUL and this book is IMPORTANT.
I am still sitting in lament.
Please go read it.
That’s really it.