Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

48 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

The author tries to tackle a lot of important issues related to race and identity, but it's a fairly short book which doesn't leave much room for depth and complexity.

A lot of telling rather showing, and characters that stay one-dimensional and pretty stereotypical (the white racist brat, the gun-toting gang member, etc.).

It could still be a good starting point for discussion in a classroom, or between youths and their parents. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Gun violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Classism, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexism, Genocide, and Colonisation

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow wow wow. It's clear why so many people love this book--and why so many people want it banned. Similar to The Hate U Give, this book shows us how police brutality and gun violence affect young black teens--and black populations in general--disproportionately. 

This was a difficult read, and sitting with it does make me uncomfortable. What I read in here is all true, and I've read it before in news articles, blogs, and books. But reading a book in which you place yourself in the main character's shoes does force you, for the duration of the book, to look directly at the trauma induced. You cannot close out of the tab or change the channel. And you are compelled to keep reading.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Classism, Gun violence, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Grief, Alcohol, Murder, Child death, Classism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

_ren's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Hate crime, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

onabookban's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Racism

wormgirl's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Racism

solnit_and_sebastian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

Stone's debut is a poignant and powerful YA novel told from the perspective of a Black teenager navigating his senior year of high school. The reader will witness the microaggressions and overt aggressions faced by Justyce and some of his friends as he questions his own identity, biases, and purpose. This novel has important points to make about privilege, profiling, and race in modern America, and deftly weaves these themes into the gripping narrative. The dialogue was enchanting, and the characters were fun to spend time with. I can't wait to read more of Nic Stone's work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, Child death, Police brutality, Murder, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Gun violence, Cursing, Death of parent, Violence, Domestic abuse, Slavery, and Vomit

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

dark emotional informative fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Child death, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

achay91's review

challenging emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Racism, Grief, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Child death, Classism, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol and Blood

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dear Martin by Nic Stone is an important YA story that easily explains the implications of racism in the US. Even though this is a short book, I think this story is easily digestible, which is important for communicating complex issues like racial injustice, profiling, and police brutality towards people of color. I really loved the character dynamics, and the way that character grew over the course of this book. Again, though it’s not long, it packs a lot of information and emotion into the pages. You can feel the frustration coming off the characters and I certainly believe that this book should be studied when talking about the state of racial relations in this country. This book is approachable no matter what your view point is, and I think it could do a lot to change the perspectives of people who hold views/act like Jared and his friends. No one has to remain ignorant, and everyone, even people who have been wrong in the past (which I think is a key takeaway from this book) has the potential to change for the better with more education and information.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death, and Drug use