Brilliant sequel to Dear Martin. I love Nic's writing. The characters and their stories really sucked me in. A must read!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for letting me read this in exchange for a review.

I have given Dear Justyce by Nic Stone 5 stars.

Wow. Where to start with this.

Dear Justyce follows Quan, the cousin of Manny. Even though Justyce and Quan grew up in the same neighbourhood, Wynwood Heights, their lives have gone in very different directions. Justyce is at Yale University while Quan is behind bars at a youth detention centre.

After a series of flashbacks and letter to Justyce, you begin to see Quan's story unfurl - until there's a dead policeman and a gun with Quan's prints on.

I found this book truly gripping from start to finish and a truly powerful read. It was an emotional journey but one that I am truly glad I went on and recommend everyone else does too. It was incredibly impactful and packs an important message in a short space of time.

A powerful and thought provoking book about racism, most suited for young adults. This is the sequel to Dear Martin but you don't need to have read the books in order. Nic Stone writes with passion and insight as he delves into the abyss of racism to bring you an invocative read.

Quan and Justyce (the protagonist of Dear Martin) form an unlikely bond when they collide at the same rocket in the same park for the same reasons - their home lives had become unbearable.

The narrative follows Quan as he tries to put the wrongs of his past behind him but they somehow creep up to trip him up into a life he doesn't seek. He watched his father get arrested, focussed on his school work only to be accused of cheating, even his mother didn't believe him, this disbelief led him straight into Trey and a life of crime.

A powerful, raw story depicting how actions and the colour of your skin can determine how you are viewed and how you view yourself, a little belief in humanity goes a long way.

Dear Justyce is the emotional sequel to Dear Martin and follows Quan, Justyce's old childhood friend.

Nic Stone prefaces this story by saying that she set out to write about Black kids who weren't like Justyce. The ones who weren't able to go to a private school, who had to stay in a neighbourhood where gangs were part of daily life, who live in poverty and see things children should never see.

Going in, I was worried about whether Dear Justyce would live up to the love I had for Dear Martin and honestly, Stone knocked it out of the park. From the events in the first book we knew that Quan was already in prison for the death of a police officer but through his letters to Justyce and flashbacks we learn more about what happened that night, and the environment Quan grew up in.

The number of young Black men who are victims of the American justice system are heartbreaking. Through Quan, Nic Stone shows that at one point in time both boys could have followed the same path but Quan was let down over and over again by the adults in his life who should have taken care of him. This isn't a case of "good kid" vs "bad kid", this is a real story of real lives playing out all over the world. This is about finding a family unit and trying to figure a way out of the world you live in.

I’m really glad that Nic Stone decided to tell Quan’s story as it's so important to show this different perspective alongside Justyce's story. I thought the way the letters and flashbacks were incorporated worked perfectly for this well-paced novel and the characters felt very realistic. Whilst both Dear Martin and Dear Justyce can be read as standalone novels, I would highly recommend reading them together.

A brilliant sequel to Dear Martin and an essential read for all Nic Stone fans. This features Quan who is imprisoned in jail writing letters to Justyce detailing his journey from regular teenager to how he ends up in jail. A fantastically credible read.

Justyce and Quan met as children but their lives have taken different paths. As Quan is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit Quan is determined to see his friend released and returned to freedom. This series is an eye opener and heartbreaker. It allows you to immerse yourself in the prejudice that the black/POC community deals with on a daily basis and how easy it seems to be for the world to let them down time and time again. It's a must read for me and it gave me goosebumps towards the end!

A police officer is shot dead and now teenager Quan is behind bars awaiting trial for his murder. This isn't the way Quan hoped his life would pan out, but circumstance lead him down the wrong path and now he must atone for his past.

Once a bright, talented student Quan fostered hope of making something of his life, avoiding the path his own Father took, leading directly to jail. A troubled childhood, poverty and lack of opportunity and belief from others lead him to seek solace and support in the wrong places. Finding himself immersed in gang life and a downward vicious cycle Quan is in over his head with no way out. Now in Juvenile prison accused of murder Quan writes letters to a Justyce, his murdered cousins friend from home, to tell his story from the beginning. 

Justyce is one of the lucky ones from Quan's run down neighbourhood having been afforded opportunities that many could only dream of. Now studying Law at Yale Justyce reads the story of Quan's life, able to build a picture of the abuse, poverty, trauma, inequality and discrimination he has faced at every turn, but it soon becomes clear his arrest and subsequent charges aren't quite what they seem. Can Justyce help discover the truth and even if he can will Quan have the strength to break free from the hold his gang still have over him? 

This is a story that MUST to be told and one which everyone would benefit from reading. Whilst Quan's story is fictional the circumstances which lead to him straying from the correct path and ultimately being imprisoned are not. Nic Stone's authors note explains the depth of research she undertook to ensure the authenticity of this story as well as using her own first hand experiences. It's clear from reading her authors note how common place these situations are and it's truly heart-breaking.

It was eye opening for me to read about the experiences Quan as a young boy had to endure from his Father's distressing arrest to his Mother's domestic violence at the hands of his Step-Father, which helped set the stage for the decisions he made and opportunities he lacked going into his teenage years. It's a pattern that sadly is common in so many poor African American communities in America and this book drags these issues out into the open, shining a light on them and rightly so. It highlights so many issues including discrimination and systematic racism which all make it nigh on impossible for children from those backgrounds to succeed; such an important conversation which should be happening much more than it is.

Dear Justyce is written using interspersed letters and flashbacks which all form part of the tapestry of Quan's life, all slotting together as you glean more information about his life. It's such a fast paced story despite the detail and depth of emotion within.  I loved this beautifully written book and would highly recommend everyone reads to help educated themselves on these ongoing issues. Whilst this book is the companion to Dear Martin I don't think it's necessary to have read it in order to understand Dear Justyce, although it did give me a better personal insight into where Justyce was coming from having read his story. 

This is a hard hitting story that had me hooked throughout, reading it in only a matter of days. Whilst hard to read in places it's sadly a fictionalised portrayal of events and situations that happen every day in real life, making it all the more poignant. A highly recommended five star read from me .

Sequel to Dear Martin, which I bought and read in advance of this one, it intertwines with that story and tells how tiny moments in a Black American boy's life can push him down a path of crime and danger. Ultimately positive and with lots of modelling on how to respond to racism and microaggressions.

Dear Justyce follows Quan who, having fallen in the wrong crowd at a young age, finds himself incarcerated. While in prison, those he thought were his friends have abandoned him and it is through writing to Justyce that he finds the hope he needs to keep going and to believe he is destined for more than a life on the streets. Justyce was introduced to us in Nic Stone's earlier novel Dear Martin but you don't need to have read that earlier book to follow along as Stone does a good job of giving us the information we need to understand the context of the relationship between the two young men.

Nic Stone wrote this novel in response to a request from one of her readers to portray what life is like for those young people who don't get the opportunities that Justyce has in Stone's earlier novel. I think she did this premise justice, she balanced her responsibility to write something that felt authentic with her desire to project a level of hope and ambition for those who would go on to read the book. The reality, as Stone admits herself, is that many young black men in Quan's position would not receive the level of support he gets and are lost to a system that has no interest in helping them. I am glad that the end of Dear Justyce is not quite so bleak, we see enough of that every day in the news and I hope for a day when the ending Quan has is not the exception but the rule.

Growing up only yards apart in an Atlanta suburb LaQuan and Justyce has a similar perspective on life. However Justyce wised up and is now a student at Yale but LaQuan is facing a murder charge and is locked up. Through a series of letters LaQuan's journey to where is he is examined, but can things change before it becomes too late?
This is a strong YA novel which illustrates life in the 'hood and the pressures on young African American males. Stone takes a series of life cliches (absent father in jail, domestic violence, poverty etc) and shows how it is easy for young boys to be lost into a society that does them no favours.

The follow up to Dear Martin is equally gripping and frustrating to read. Frustrating because it is so accurate in the horrors that face so many young Black youth.

Quan, who we met in Dear Martin, grew up in the same neighbourhood as Justyce but their lives couldn’t be further apart.

As we learn about Quan’s story through flashbacks of his childhood and letters he writes to Justyce, we learn about the series of events, assumptions and misunderstandings that bring Quan to the present day - behind bars and awaiting trial for a murder charge.

Nic Stone has once again written a novel that will have you a) shaking your head at the injustices that face Quan and b) feeling angry because you know what she writes isn’t just fiction.

And when you’re at either of those phases, remember that education is important. So keep educating yourselves, keep diversifying your feeds because Black Lives Still Matter. And if you haven’t started your journey yet, pick up a copy of Dear Martin and while you’re doing that, go ahead and pre-order Dear Justyce.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed reading from Quan's perspective after enjoying Dear Martin from Justyce's perspective. It shows how kids who are in vulnerable in their home life can be more at risk of joining gangs looking for the family and dependence you would expect from a bio family.

It has hope yet realism.

I wouldn’t have believed it, but this read even surpassed Dear Martin for me and I think that was somewhat to do with the continuation and connection to these characters spinning on from book one. Jus was his epic self but he was a side character in Quan’s story.

Nic Stone wrote realistically, painfully so, transmitting all the feelings and hurt. Quan who I didn’t like all that much in Dear Martin, carved a special place in my heart. Being able to see the world through his perspective, his narrative and reflections, truly was something; something profound.

The journey, the bad decisions that often seemed like the only decisions, the injustices, were all falling off the page. If you like a read with impact, this is it. There were so many lines that touched me, kicked me in the gut and spat me out.

"But he was telling me how growing up, he was this real good kid until some stuff happened in his family. So he went looking for a new family. Like a lot of us do."

Nic Stone has that ability to touch me and teach me without preaching to me. This duo of books is on my required reading list now and I have a feeling I will revisit myself and definitely continue to rec the socks off these books.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK for the review copy.

A book you can read in one sitting. Powerful, emotional, important. It will have you hooked. A must read!

I absolutely was hooked by every word, I hadn’t read Dear Martin, but found it didn’t make a difference in reading this book. This book once I picked it up I devoured in one sitting , it’s so readable and accessible, I was very impressed by how the author made such difficult subjects to discuss for adults, so accessible for a younger audience (or maybe youth is just more mature than us) I thought it was a touch slower at the start, but didn’t affect my addiction in anyway. Overall, this story is thought provoking, raw, honest and powerful, it should be read by everyone, particularly people in power and decision making.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I blasted through this in less than 24 hours - the format makes it very readable and the plot demands your attention. I hadn't read Dear Martin, but that didn't really seem to matter as Quan's story is so timely and relevant. Everyone should read this, especially US politicians.

I loved loved loved Dear Martin and Dear Justyce was no different. Since Reading THUG by ange thomas i've been on a mission to read as many books about black lives as i can and im so glad i found both DM and DJ <3 Nic Stone is a wonderful writer

I remember reading Dear Martin and being impressed at Nic Stone's work. I had not expected to get a sort of sequel, but I'm glad we did get one. Quan and Justyce are such different characters, and it allowed Nic Stone to explore different themes.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with an eArc of this book.

Unfortunately, I am not able to provide feedback as I had not realised that my copy didn't transfer over when I changed reading devices and I was too late to download again.

Completely my fault but I will be buying this book soon!