Dear Justyce

Title:

Dear Justyce

Author:

Stone, Nic, author.

Personal Author:

Stone, Nic, author.

ISBN:

9781984829665

9781984829672

9781984829696

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

266 pages ; 22 cm.

General Note:

Includes an excerpt of Dear Martin by the author.

Companion novel to: Dear Martin.

Abstract:

Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.

Reading Level:

Ages 14+. Crown Books for Young Readers.

Grades 10-12. Crown Books for Young Readers.

Program Information:

Lexile HL780L.

Subject Term:

Juvenile detention homes -- Juvenile fiction.

Dysfunctional families -- Juvenile fiction.

Best friends -- Juvenile fiction.

African Americans -- Juvenile fiction.

Letters -- Juvenile fiction.

Juvenile detention homes -- Fiction.

Best friends -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

African Americans -- Fiction.

Letters -- Fiction.

Young adult fiction.

Summary:

Incarcerated teen Quan Banks writes letters to Justyce McCallister, with whom he bonded years before over family issues, about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.

Holds:

Available:*

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An NPR Best Book of the Year * The stunning sequel to the critically acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller Dear Martin . An incarcerated teen writes letters to his best friend about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system .

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.

"A powerful, raw, must-read told through the lens of a Black boy ensnared by our broken criminal justice system." -Kirkus, Starred Review

Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

In this sequel to Dear Martin (rev. 11/17), we are reintroduced to Quan, best friend of that book's protagonist. Dear Justyce opens with a flashback to Quan and Justyce's (then aged nine and ten) first meeting at a park where Quan has run to escape his mother's abusive boyfriend. The novel then fast-forwards to an incarcerated Quan, remembering the day his father was arrested two years after that meeting. While in custody, Quan writes to Justyce at Yale. Through "snapshots" and letters we learn the circumstances and decisions that led to Quan's arrest as well as the ups and downs of his friendship with Justyce. When Quan professes that he didn't commit the crime for which he was incarcerated, Justyce becomes committed to clearing his name. While we learn Quan's story largely through third-person narration, including some interspersed poetic text, it is the letters Quan writes to Justyce that are most powerful. Teens can relate to the feelings of alienation, loneliness, and confusion that lead Quan to make many of the choices that he does, even as the book explores the various ways our current justice system disenfranchises young people of color. Nicholl Denice Montgomery November/December 2020 p.113(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

The deck is stacked against incarcerated 16-year-old Quan as he faces up to 20 years in prison in this sequel to the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin (2017). With his father in prison, Quan works hard to excel in school, avoid his mother's abusive boyfriend, and keep his siblings from going hungry. Bright but burdened, Quan eventually begins committing petty crimes and lands in a youth detention center. Through Quan, Stone brilliantly portrays the voices of incarcerated Black youth, their trauma, hopelessness, and awareness of how fraught and fragile their futures are due to racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Quan sees a 12-year-old Black boy locked up for a year for merely associating with gang members while a 17-year-old White boy who stabbed his father eight times serves only 60 days. But Quan isn't left to fight for his freedom alone; his best friend, Justyce, makes sure of that. Quan's story is eloquently told in part through letters he writes to Justyce, who is attending college at Yale. Fans of the previous volume and new readers alike won't want to put down this unforgettable volume until they learn Quan's fate. A powerful, raw must-read told through the lens of a Black boy ensnared by our broken criminal justice system. (author's note) (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Reviews (2)

Horn Book Review

Kirkus Review