Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

19 reviews

taliatalksbooks's review

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone was a powerful sequel to Dear Martin. Though shorter books, both of these novels effectively and succinctly highlight the impact of race in the US Justice System. These ramifications create a complex web of emotions, that Stone allows readers (especially those of us who are not people of color) to get a first hand glimpse into the thoughts and reasonings of someone in these positions. This book does a great job communicating the fear, distrust, and discomfort associated with our justice system, and gives readers a new outlook, even if they’re not from areas like the setting of this book. I really loved the character development and writing of this book, and I think the pair are absolutely must reads. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, and Racism

chaoticnostalgia's review

hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Classism, Grief, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Cancer

Minor: Pregnancy and Drug use

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Sad yet hopeful. This book allows us to see what the world could look like, if we gave a damn. It provides a realistic look into the school to prison pipeline and so beautifully articulates the why for young men & women who get caught up in illegal activities when they know they shouldn’t. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Grief, Classism, Confinement, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism

nikmahie's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this one a lot, but some parts were very obviously fictional… which made it hard to stay in the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Gun violence

caterina's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A strong sequel following a character from the first book who had much less support, and yet this book too is hopeful, full of lovable characters, and even more than the first imagines a better world. If there's ever a surprise book #3, I'm reading it too!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, and Confinement

Minor: Domestic abuse and Death

mbrogs2024's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Racism, Gun violence, and Death

honeyvoiced's review

hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Child abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cancer

mandi4886's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

brandie_abbie19's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Violence

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Dear Justyce is just as hard-hitting as Dear Martin, but exploring a different aspect of the Black American story. As she expressed in her foreword to the book, Nic Stone had no intention of writing a sequel to Dear Martin and this book came about by a conversation she had with two individuals who wanted to see their story in her world. It’s a touching introduction to a book that tells a sad story.

As with her other writing, Stone does an excellent job of building a world and developing characters in a limited amount of space. She uses her words effectively to drive home emotion rather than relying on flowery language to impress the reader. Quan’s story unrolls in two separate directions – the past and the present. She transitions carefully between the two, never losing the reader between the two interlocking stories. She also uses her POVs carefully, making sure that each chapter is deeply meaningful to either the plot or overall narrative. From an objective point of view, I really appreciate that in her as an author. She tells the story and makes sure she is mindful of the reader’s time. Which I know may seem a strange thing to say, but both Dear Martin and Dear Justyce come in at under 300 pages, and they tell as rich a story as any of those 500 page behemoths.

From a more personal, emotional perspective, Dear Justyce hits hard in the conversation about the racism involved in our justice system. This is a good fictional accompaniment to The New Jim Crow. We see miscarriage of justice at multiple turns. We see racist attitudes in individuals who have a position of power in both policing and the prison system. Both these things reflect real life. The entire system certainly isn’t corrupt – we see one police office trying to bring another down, we see good lawyers. But it’s encouragement to look at the current justice system we have here in the United States and consider the reasons why we need to tear it down and build something new. A justice system that has no intention of treating all people fairly is not a justice system at all.

There is one thing in this book that does not reflect real life – Quan’s support system. A lot of things go right for Quan that would not in a normal situation. I really appreciated that Stone drew attention to this in her afterword. Sometimes we portray happy endings in fiction that cannot come to pass without a shift in behavior and a new understanding in our people… and it’s important to know the difference between fact and fiction in this arena.

I loved Dear Justyce. It’s a strong story about a Black teen who could have the world going for him if he had support, and the consequences of dragging people down and assuming the worst about people. It’s a wonderful read for those wanting to continue their antiracism work, ad an essential book to have in schools. It’s a little dark, but if a Black teen can have these things happen to him (and they do quite regularly in real life) then all teens are capable of reading about them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Gaslighting and Murder

Minor: Death and Death of parent