A review by anxiouslybooked
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

5.0

This sequel to Dear Martin does not disappoint. Dear Justyce takes readers on a journey exposing the school-to-prison pipeline and the injustice that many black and brown young adults face in this country. Readers follow Vernell LaQuan Banks Jr. through his experience as a young child watching his father being arrested to Vernell, himself being incarcerated. While incarcerated, Vernell (Quan), writes letters to Justyce McAllister, who is completing his first year, Pre-Law at Yale. Through these correspondences, readers learn more about Quan’s story and what ultimately leads him to be incarcerated. This novel was hard to put down, yet strikingly hard to read at times as a teacher. Nic Stone does a phenomenal job showing what life is like for teens who live life with financial instability, hostile family relationships, gang violence, and racial bias and injustice. While this book is a work of fiction it is rooted in an alarming reality. Readers who enjoyed books like Dear Martin, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds should read this timely and eye-opening novel.