Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Dear Justyce

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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