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A review by rachcannoli
Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
5.0
DEAR JUSTYCE is bookended by authors notes, narrated beautifully by Stone herself in the audiobook, that really hit home to the true importance of this follow-up. Stone said she never intended to write a sequel because Justyce's story was complete, but that's when teens she had worked with suggested she write a story from a POV more familiar to them. In truth, it's a rarity to find a book like this, let alone one in the YA genre, that depicts black teens who are, as Stone says, "doing their best to stay out of trouble that seems bent on shoving them into it." She says she knows far more Quans than she does Justyces and truly wanted to give voice to these sadly common circumstances of children who seem unable to escape from the school to prison pipeline, despite their efforts. I also believe books like this to be crucial in putting people like me, a white woman, into the mindset of these characters in hopes of furthering empathy and taking a step away from our inherent privileges. Again, Stone brilliantly takes this deceptively simple and quick read, packaging it into an easily digestible way of such topics so we can easily fall into the narrative and love Quan just as fiercely as as we did Justyce.
DEAR JUSTYCE picks up right where we left off, except now through the lens of Quan, one of Justyce's childhood friends passingly mentioned in the first book. Justyce is now at Yale studying law and the recipient of Quan's letters who is wrongly incarcerated for the murder of the cop who previously harassed Justyce. From a troubled childhood to a coerced confession and prejudiced police work, Stone's novel takes a look at the flawed practices and ideologies that discriminate against African American boys and minorities in the American Prison System. Stone utilizes her own experiences as well as time spent with incarcerated teens, like Quan, to ground the plot and characters fully in realism.
I loved this book; just as cutting and affecting as DEAR MARTIN, but through a lens that is rarely shown. It was incredibly emotionally charged and just as engaging, clearly since I devoured it in less than 2 days. A powerful and fast-paced read that really makes you think about the consequences of systemic racism especially in educational institutions, checking biases based in privilege, and how necessary honest support is in such cases. Despite Quan doing everything in his power to succeed in life he was set up to fail due to this system. Yet Quan is still extremely intelligent, compassionate, relatable, and open to the hope of continuing to grow if ever given the opportunity to get out of this horrible system.
To again go back to the author's notes, “many children have stories like Quan’s: an incarcerated parent, deeply traumatic home lives, and limited resources for survival, let alone situational improvement.” The most fictionalized moments in this book is the support that Quan is able to receive, a fact that just leaves a pit in my stomach. Stone hopes that while this is currently the case, we are able to see what such support can result and hope it's something we can manifest in systems today and work towards the justice these teens deserve. I highly recommend both books, but this one just continually hit me on how much it needs to be read and shared. A wonderfully paced, impactful quick read that'll leave you thinking long after you've finished.
DEAR JUSTYCE picks up right where we left off, except now through the lens of Quan, one of Justyce's childhood friends passingly mentioned in the first book. Justyce is now at Yale studying law and the recipient of Quan's letters who is wrongly incarcerated for the murder of the cop who previously harassed Justyce. From a troubled childhood to a coerced confession and prejudiced police work, Stone's novel takes a look at the flawed practices and ideologies that discriminate against African American boys and minorities in the American Prison System. Stone utilizes her own experiences as well as time spent with incarcerated teens, like Quan, to ground the plot and characters fully in realism.
I loved this book; just as cutting and affecting as DEAR MARTIN, but through a lens that is rarely shown. It was incredibly emotionally charged and just as engaging, clearly since I devoured it in less than 2 days. A powerful and fast-paced read that really makes you think about the consequences of systemic racism especially in educational institutions, checking biases based in privilege, and how necessary honest support is in such cases. Despite Quan doing everything in his power to succeed in life he was set up to fail due to this system. Yet Quan is still extremely intelligent, compassionate, relatable, and open to the hope of continuing to grow if ever given the opportunity to get out of this horrible system.
To again go back to the author's notes, “many children have stories like Quan’s: an incarcerated parent, deeply traumatic home lives, and limited resources for survival, let alone situational improvement.” The most fictionalized moments in this book is the support that Quan is able to receive, a fact that just leaves a pit in my stomach. Stone hopes that while this is currently the case, we are able to see what such support can result and hope it's something we can manifest in systems today and work towards the justice these teens deserve. I highly recommend both books, but this one just continually hit me on how much it needs to be read and shared. A wonderfully paced, impactful quick read that'll leave you thinking long after you've finished.