I'm not entirely sure if enjoyed is the right word for how I felt about this book, but I was so glad I read it. It's dealing with important issues such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement and police brutality, in a similar way to The Hate U Give, but telling these stories through a male lens added another layer for me. It's well-written and Justyce's character sings out, opening up a window to a world that I haven't experienced.

This book was absolutely stunning and heartbreaking at the same time. It’s a very small book so it’s a quick read but the author packed so much into such a tiny book. It was like a punch to the gut at times. Every single person needs to read this book and this is really good for the black lives matter movement. It deserves just as much hype as The Hate You Give.

Justyce 'Jus' McAllister works hard at school and is one of the top students. But when a police officer sees Jus helping his drunk girlfriend into her car, all the officer sees is a black man hurting a white girl and Jus ends up in handcuffs.
Afterwards, Jus starts writing to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hoping that Dr. King's teachings can help him move on from the event.
But then something worse happens. Something that will change Jus's life forever.

I had heard a lot of good things about Dear Martin and I was worried that I would think it was over-hyped, but I ended up enjoying it.
Jus was a good protagonist - he was easy to relate to and I could understand why being handcuffed for no reason made him question everything. I felt really sorry for him.
I liked Manny and SJ. They were good characters.
I found myself blinking away tears several times, especially at a certain event.
The plot was interesting and thought-provoking. Something happened which had me gasping (and swearing) in shock.
Dear Martin is quite a short read but it packed a punch and I don't think it needed to be any longer.

Overall this was an enjoyable and important read.

'Dear Martin' is such an important read about a crucial topic, and I realise that I'm part of an echo chamber saying this, but that doesn't make it any less true. So much is packed into so few pages, the reading experience was like watching a firework display. Prioritising books written by authors of that experience should be on everyone's minds and I think it would be impossible to read 'Dear Martin' without coming away with one thousand feelings. Eye opening and raw, this book will be on my mind for days, months, years to come.

I have heard this book compared a lot to Angie Thomas' amazing story, 'The Hate U Give', which I absolutely loved! This meant that I was both excited and nervous to pick up 'Dear Martin' as that is quite a comparison to live up to!

Although I don't think that this is quite on the same level as 'The Hate U Give', I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Angie Thomas. It is a powerful and moving story that really hits at some hard questions and realities that people still face every day. Through his letters to Martin Luther King Jr., Justyce asks 'what has really changed?', which really focuses the story and makes you really think.

I'd heard lots of rumours about how great this book was, which normally makes me nervous when I read a book. Especially when it's been compared so much to one of my favourites, The Hate U Give. But I was pretty impressed with what I read. I loved the angst, honesty and development in the story. But I did feel like it ended a tad too early. I think I just wanted to find out what else was going to happen to the characters, where their stories would go next. I was fully engrossed and read it on a train journey. A fantastic read about discrimination and prejudice in the modern world.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and it did not disappoint.

Justice's story is a powerful and moving one. Whilst his story explores racism and race relations in present day America, his letters to Dr Martin Luther King force the question how much has changed in the past fifty years?

It's hard to think/ write about this book without mentioning 'The Hate U Give' because they both focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and they do it so well. This is definitely a book I will be recommending to everyone!

I really loved this books as it gives a realistic insight into the prejudices and racism issues faced by so many people every single day, as well as the ignorance of people who don’t see their privilege.

Justice is a great central character, and the way some of the story is told through his letters to Martin Luther King Jr works really well. For a short book, the characters are well developed, although I would liked to have had more on Justyce’s relationship with his mother.

This book is heartbreaking and frustrating but most of all, honest. I highly recommend to everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publish for a copy of this book.

A wonderful book to add to the growing resume of strong black representation. I loved the whole connection with Martin Luther King and feel that really brought a different element to the book that made it unique.

A fascinating read that really opened my eyes to some of the issues around race relations in the US. I did think it was maybe a little on the short side but well worth reading.

As an ever so slightly older than teenage white woman who lives in a small town in Scotland I don’t think this book was really aimed at me, and I suspect I didn’t “get” it in the same way it’s intended audience would, but I did find it an absolutely fascinating read. My experience of the impact of racial stereotyping is very limited and gun violence isn’t really a thing here (although gang culture is) so this really opened my eyes and highlighted a lot of the issues in a very real and natural way.

At only 210 pages, I did find it a surprisingly quick read (I finished it within a couple of hours) but while I appreciated the fast pace and ease of reading it I think I would have preferred a little more depth and detail. It moves at such a speed that I never felt connected to the characters or emotionally invested in the story. That’s not to say that this is not an emotional read (there were a few truly heartbreaking moments) but I think if there had been more background to the characters and more relationship building I would have felt so much more.

As far as main character Justyce goes I can’t say that I ever connected to or fully understood him and his actions although I suspect this is likely more to do with our relative backgrounds and ages rather than the writing as he is very convincingly portrayed by the author. In fact I think the author did a brilliant job of portraying all of the characters in this story and the dialogue and interactions between them felt especially real.

I also have to give the author praise for presenting the issues in a very clever way so that they’re clearly demonstrated without the story ever becoming preachy. The use of Justyce’s letters to Martin Luther King combined with the discussions at the debate club and his experiences were ideal ways of getting points across and combining both the facts/statistics and the emotional impact on Justyce in a natural way. I do think the author could have gone deeper in certain areas and developed them a little further but there is no doubting that the key messages come across loud and clear.

This is a book with a lot of buzz around it and a very important message so I am glad to have been given the opportunity to read it. It’s definitely one I would recommend.

five-stars
Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League – but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighbourhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates.

Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.

Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up – way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty police officer beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

After reading fantastic reviews upon its publication in the US, I was delighted to find Dear Martin due for publication in the UK. Wow, those reviews were right, this is a tremendously powerful book.

Justyce is a 17-year-old high school senior. He’s fourth in his graduating class, captain of the debate team and is on course for an Ivy League education in law. He’s also one of the few black guys in his school – his best friend Manny being another.

Inspired by the heartbreaking stories that we see of racial profiling by the police force in the US, this story explores what it’s like to be judged and prejudiced because of the colour of your skin.

The story beings with Jus being wrongly arrested for trying to help his drunk ex-girlfriend into the back of her car to drive her home. Evidently, the police assumed carjacking.

This sets in motion an experiment whereby Jus decides to take inspiration from the great Martin Luther King Jr – what would Martin do? Jus begins writing to Martin as his eyes are opened wider and wider to the racism that exists in his country.

I don’t want to give you much more detail than that. It’s a book that you need to read for yourself. It tackles so many prevalent issues through the life and interactions of one black teenage boy in Atlanta.

I adored Jus from the outset, his character leaps off the pages. But all of the characters in this book are important – as are the choices that many of them have to make.

This is a stunning, heartbreaking novel that should be read by ALL! I can’t find the words to do it justice. Just read it!

Ok, there's a thing we need to say before I review this.
I am a white woman living in Britain where police don't have guns except on very rare occasions, yes there is racism in the way the police treat non white people and I have been horrified by stories my uncle has told me about growing up black in a predominately white area and how people would cross the road rather than walk alongside him but I have not experienced it and I don't feel like I, as a white person who has never experienced racial profiling, am the right person to talk about how powerful this book is or how it is an important addition to a conversation, that sadly, still need to happen.

Raw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone joins industry giants Jason Reynolds and Walter Dean Myers as she boldly tackles American race relations in this stunning debut.
Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.
Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.



Like I said, I am not the person is qualified to talk about this book, so I'll keep this brief and let you guys make up your minds for yourselves.
I like to think I'm pretty woke and I work hard every day to fight prejudice when I see it, much like SJ in this book though, while I am trying to do the right thing, these aren't battles that I or other white people should be taking from those actually fighting them. It is something that white people should open their eyes too and support those in these situations however and that was my main take away from this book.
Justyce's story is interspersed with conversations, letters to Martin Luther King and news reports, which really flesh out the whole experience.
Nic Stone has given us a very well written story about a modern problem I raced through this story reading the whole thing in one sitting, it was captivating from the first page. I have yet to read The Hate You Give, which I'm aware is of a similar nature, but it is on my TBR and has gone up several spaces since Netgalley let me read this. I want to read more own voices novels, so if you guys can recommend me some more, I'd be grateful.

“You can’t change how other people think and act, but you’re in full control of you. When it comes down to it, the only question that matters is this: If nothing in the world ever changes, what type of man are you gonna be?”


CW: Racism and Police Brutality

4.5 stars – I just wanted in-depth character building to push it up that bit extra

Dear Martin is a short read but powerful and important book that shows the struggles black teenagers face right now in America, Justyce is 17-year-old student doing well in school and is trying to find his place in the world. He turns Dr Martin Luther King in a series of letter, trying to figure out what Martin do.

Justyce world is rocked when a police officer detains him while trying to help his ex-girlfriend. The officer sees the colour of his skin and the hoodie he is wearing and jumps to the conclusion that Justyce is carjacking her. Despite the optimism Justyce has for an equal sociality, he understands the harsh reality of the current American climate. Overall the book gives a true reflection of what is happening with racial profiling and police brutality.

Doc and SJ are such interesting guiding characters, but I really wanted deeper characters, we don’t really get to see who any of them truly are. Development of the characters and a longer book would have been great. The whole book had a slight tone of being a play, as while it is from Justyce’s side it is the third person.

The book is topics are so important, I know my privilege as a white woman so I know my opinions don’t have very much weight here but it’s a great starting point to explaining and exploring the injustice and inequality that happens in America but without a doubt, schools should have this!

Not for me. A strange style, including letters to MLK that included whole scenes of dialogue and descriptions such as “I snorted” within the letter: it didn’t read well. It didn’t feel as though it was real teens talking. Couldn’t finish,

I don't really have the words to explain how brilliant this is. It's short but so, so powerful.

I decided to read a 'couple of chapters' to reward myself for doing some work on my dissertation and just read the whole book in one sitting.

It's perfectly done, Justyce, Manny, SJ, Jared & Blake in particular all felt incredibly real and although this is fiction, it could so easily be a real life story. It's incredibly nuanced, there are discussions about privilege, poverty, gang culture, institutional racism in a very calm and measured way that never felt preachy.

I loved everything about it, everyone should read it. It's heartbreaking and life affirming at the same time.

I am white. I realise that racism is out there but truly can't fully understand the issues as I've never had to face the problems we read about in the book. For me, and many other people in the world, this kind of book is definitely important to be out there to open my eyes to a different world entirely.

The story does not shy away from much-needed conversations about racism and racial profiling in America, and for such a short book it does pack a massive punch.

The shortness and style of writing makes it a quick easy read but the subject matter was really difficult to read. Anger and sadness were common reactions I felt while reading when being confronted with a reality that I wish didn't exsist. I often don't understand this world and many of the people that live in it :/

Justyce is a bright young man who is excelling in a mostly white school. He becomes involved in several miscarriages of justice regarding black men in his neighbourhood. He loses friends to gun violence and police profiling. Much like The Hate U Give, Dear Martin gave me an insight into a culture I know little about and I absolutely loved it. The book is very well written and unpredictable.

For some, it sounds like the kind of dystopian world inspired by The Hunger Games. A dark, dystopian future where young men are gunned down for doing nothing wrong. Imagine trying to live your life with the constant knowledge that you could be murdered for… wearing the wrong clothes… looking “shady”… or having the wrong colour skin. Imagine living this nightmare and STILL being told that it doesn’t happen anymore. That everyone is equal and, actually, YOU are given an advantage by affirmative action programs.

But this isn’t a dark dystopia. It’s the world we live in. Maybe it’s not a world I am forced to deal with. Or you. Or you over there. But it’s the world many black Americans face every day.

Dear Martin introduces us to Justyce - a strong and important voice in YA. There are so few YA books with POC narrators and especially lacking are those with non-white teen boys, so this book is particularly needed. Through third person narration alternating with Justyce's letters to Martin Luthor King Jr., we get insight into some of the experiences had by black teenage boys.

For those looking for books to complement The Hate U Give, this is a good place to start. While The Hate U Give looks at the shooting of unarmed black men and boys through the eyes of a female witness, Dear Martin instead offers what it is like to be one of those racially-profiled black men.

It is not just about shooting, though. This book explores smaller but deeply hurtful acts of racially-charged aggression, such as the anger held by white students over affirmative action programs. Or the demand to "stop being so sensitive" in the face of race-related jokes. It is especially interesting when the author also considers the animosity Justyce receives from the black boys in his neighbourhood. He finds himself torn between the need to be true to his roots and his desire to succeed in a world that demands he play the white man's game to get ahead.

All that being said, it's not a perfect book. While many complex issues are considered, some aspects are simplistic and lacking in nuance. Justyce is an unquestionably nice, well-mannered boy who wants to follow in the “moral high ground” footsteps of MLK. While it is important to deconstruct the aggressive thug stereotype associated with young black men, teens this mild-mannered and uncomplicated are hard to believe in. I was a shy bookworm and even I had more bite than Justyce.

In contrast, all of the racism is very overt. The cops all stomp around punching black guys in the face and using the n-word, while Justyce's white classmates are so stupidly and openly racist to the point where one of them thinks it's funny to go to a party dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member. Does this level of abhorrent behaviour happen? Absolutely! But the real problem we face today is more insidious, more subtle, hiding behind a "I just feared for my life, your honour". In reality, it is much more complex than good vs. bad where the bad wears a white hood and shouts racist insults. That is why young black men are so at risk and their murderers so likely to escape justice - because the most dangerous racists no longer wear the t-shirt.

I would have also liked to see more of a challenge to the misogyny. I wouldn't say it's glorified, but it is never addressed when Manny, a black boy, says he dislikes black girls because he’s never met any that aren’t ghetto and full of attitude. Seems like a strange message to send out in a book of this kind.

But the good definitely outweighs the bad. Problems aside, this is a short, quick read that packs a huge punch. I feel like I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

You know how sometimes you just can't deal with a particular tense in a book? That's me with present tense, especially when it's in a third person narrative. And unfortunately, that was this book. As I read more of it, I did get into it more, but that first part where the present tense felt kind of stilted and there were entire scenes which were formatted like in a script (a format which seemed to be dropped in the second part, with only occasional, and fairly oddly positioned, conversations written like that thereafter), was hard for me to get into.

The second part read much easier than the first for me, perhaps because by this time I'd got used to the present tense, but also perhaps because I'd slowly got attached to the characters and then when that happens, suddenly I'm even more emotionally involved. Either way, the second part probably saved the book for me (OK, so that's an exaggeration, but it'd have been maybe a 2/2.5 star read for me before though).

One little irritation I had reading this was the way the main characters talked about women. It was only a minor one, because they didn't really talk about women too much, but it was still a little uncomfortable. But then, that's probably boys for you. But, overall, this book was good, though I am a bit disappointed I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to have.