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challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The book probably needed another 50 pages, just to try to make the story and the ending make more sense, and not just cut off how it did.
I don't want to give any spoilers, but I will say that though it was a very tough read, I loved the first 3/4 of the book. Then things just got to the point where I had too many questions about how things were turning out. Like ... when he's surrounded by so many rich people, why weren't they able to hire a better lawyer and get him some coaching... and why was a kid who was so good at debate able to be painted into a corner so thoroughly, and then with all of the character assassination, why was he just able to head north for school anyway with no repercussions in that corner? Just messy.
Despite all of that, the book was still worth reading and gave me a lot to think about.
I don't want to give any spoilers, but I will say that though it was a very tough read, I loved the first 3/4 of the book. Then things just got to the point where I had too many questions about how things were turning out. Like ... when he's surrounded by so many rich people, why weren't they able to hire a better lawyer and get him some coaching... and why was a kid who was so good at debate able to be painted into a corner so thoroughly, and then with all of the character assassination, why was he just able to head north for school anyway with no repercussions in that corner? Just messy.
Despite all of that, the book was still worth reading and gave me a lot to think about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Genocide, Fire/Fire injury
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
No
Touching story about growing up Black, trying to better your situation, and the issues that can arise. This story is tragic yet hopeful and shines a light on the ways that racism is both a domino effect in communities of color and a cyclical phenomenon that affects people of all races.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read this for school which is probably why I didn’t like it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation
emotional
reflective
sad
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Violence
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I want to be up front that Dear Martin was a pick for a grad school class, so I had to finish this book; otherwise, I would've DNFed and left it without much of a review.
Because I finished this, and especially because it was for a class on reading and evaluating texts when planning high school curricula, I did want to get into it a little bit.
My greatest issue with this book is that it lacks nuance. It is an introspectionless tour of all the trauma Black people, especially Black male teens, can face in this country. Justyce is put through trauma after trauma without processing any of it, both internal or on a larger social scale. I think this is exasperated by a poor editorial decision not to put this one entirely in first-person narrative. This lack of introspection is extra weird when given all of Justyce's avenues for exploration: he's in the prep school progressive "Societal Evolutions" class, he's on the debate team, AND his best friend's mom is a mental health care specialist. All of this leads me to believe the lack of reflective pieces was likely also a poor editorial call to slim down the narrative to be "intense" or something.
Oh, and these boys are also gross about girls. Listen, I get the possible over-sexualization of young people and the hormones and the wealth and class patriarchal elements and the whatever else of it all, but as an educator, I don't hear young boys talking like this about girls to this extent. And, even if they are, you would think a book by an adult, especially a femme author, would want to portray at least one of these male characters as progressive on this front. It's some nausea-inducing that one of the last lines of the book is the main character talking about how his girlfriend is going to "have [his] babies," which caused this one to end on a bitter note for me.
In the book's favor, the tight, "action-filled" plot is propulsive, and the book's middle was successful at pulling on my heart strings, but it still wasn't enough to redeem this one for me.
Because I finished this, and especially because it was for a class on reading and evaluating texts when planning high school curricula, I did want to get into it a little bit.
My greatest issue with this book is that it lacks nuance. It is an introspectionless tour of all the trauma Black people, especially Black male teens, can face in this country. Justyce is put through trauma after trauma without processing any of it, both internal or on a larger social scale. I think this is exasperated by a poor editorial decision not to put this one entirely in first-person narrative. This lack of introspection is extra weird when given all of Justyce's avenues for exploration: he's in the prep school progressive "Societal Evolutions" class, he's on the debate team, AND his best friend's mom is a mental health care specialist. All of this leads me to believe the lack of reflective pieces was likely also a poor editorial call to slim down the narrative to be "intense" or something.
Oh, and these boys are also gross about girls. Listen, I get the possible over-sexualization of young people and the hormones and the wealth and class patriarchal elements and the whatever else of it all, but as an educator, I don't hear young boys talking like this about girls to this extent. And, even if they are, you would think a book by an adult, especially a femme author, would want to portray at least one of these male characters as progressive on this front. It's some nausea-inducing that one of the last lines of the book is the main character talking about how his girlfriend is going to "have [his] babies," which caused this one to end on a bitter note for me.
In the book's favor, the tight, "action-filled" plot is propulsive, and the book's middle was successful at pulling on my heart strings, but it still wasn't enough to redeem this one for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
Yes
Dear Martin by Nic Stone is about Justyce, who is unjustly handcuffed by a white cop. From this day on, he realizes that even though he goes to a good school, he can't escape racism and injustices. He starts to study the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to see if he can somehow apply his doings in his own life. But more bad things happen and people are murdered.
I wanted to read this book for a very long time. It reminded me of THUG but was different in so many aspects as well. What BIPoCs have to face every single day is devastating and a crime. No human being should be discriminated. No matter what. Reading books like this break my heart on so many levels. But is important to get this reality out there more. I learn something new every time I read a book. And I learn even more when it is about a topic that I am personally not affected by. This book helped me to broaden my horizon even more and to keep on calling out racist people and content.
I really liked the concept of the journal that Justyce writes. He is trying to apply concepts to his own life, which is good for learning. The entries give a great insight into Justyce's life and how he is thinking about the world. Jared is one character I absolutely hated! He talked about reverse racism and how he was the one being discriminated. He only saw his mistakes towards the end as he realized that ALL BIPoCs experience racism, even when they are the "good" BIPoCs. Even though the second half of the book was really heartbreaking and unjust, I liked how the book ended. It showed that people can change. Beliefs can change. But you have to be willing to open your eyes and listen to the experiences of people and believe them!
This book gives a strong message to its readers. The story is heartbreaking and shows perfectly that America has a problem with gun violence and racism (but that is also a problem for all of the world). I can highly recommend it to everyone! Really liked it.
I wanted to read this book for a very long time. It reminded me of THUG but was different in so many aspects as well. What BIPoCs have to face every single day is devastating and a crime. No human being should be discriminated. No matter what. Reading books like this break my heart on so many levels. But is important to get this reality out there more. I learn something new every time I read a book. And I learn even more when it is about a topic that I am personally not affected by. This book helped me to broaden my horizon even more and to keep on calling out racist people and content.
I really liked the concept of the journal that Justyce writes. He is trying to apply concepts to his own life, which is good for learning. The entries give a great insight into Justyce's life and how he is thinking about the world. Jared is one character I absolutely hated! He talked about reverse racism and how he was the one being discriminated. He only saw his mistakes towards the end as he realized that ALL BIPoCs experience racism, even when they are the "good" BIPoCs. Even though the second half of the book was really heartbreaking and unjust, I liked how the book ended. It showed that people can change. Beliefs can change. But you have to be willing to open your eyes and listen to the experiences of people and believe them!
This book gives a strong message to its readers. The story is heartbreaking and shows perfectly that America has a problem with gun violence and racism (but that is also a problem for all of the world). I can highly recommend it to everyone! Really liked it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism
hopeful
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol