Here is my review of the 2017 Young Adult novel Dear Martin by Nic Stone:

Justyce “Jus” McAllister has dedicated his life to pursuing what he believes was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream: showing that people of all races deserve the same opportunities. He’s studious enough to be a star on his prestigious private school’s debate team. He respects his Mama and sets out to do right by the girls in his life. He keeps his head down when trouble lurks nearby. But after he’s placed in handcuffs for trying to help an intoxicated girl get home safely, he begins to notice how racism in the 21st century can make “staying out of trouble” an impossible option. It’s not just that a cop saw a Black teen in a hoodie and assumed the worst; he can’t avoid elitist comments from his classmates or accusations of “selling out” from boys in his own neighborhood. Now he’s paying attention to how even successful Black men face racial hostility, and how media narratives around kids who look like him are dripping with bigoted assumptions. Despite the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, Jus can no longer ignore that stereotypes and attitudes haven’t changed much since MLK’s time.

Dear Martin impressively weaves Justyce’s personal traumas – big and small – with sharp observations about larger societal expectations of Black men into a propulsive narrative with a potent emotional punch. It effectively demonstrates that microaggressions, often written off as “meaningless,” fuel prejudices that can lead to tragedy. Stone has deftly crafted vivid, well-rounded characters in Jus and his best friend Manny: they’re both kind, curious, and academically driven boys, but neither is above the influence of peer pressure or surrendering to base impulses when pushed too far. Jus’s antagonistic classmate Jared is also rendered with nuance, as a financially privileged White teen coming to terms with the reality that the world is far less “equal” than he believed. Unfortunately, the novel’s tight focus leaves little room to develop other characters, particularly Jus’s dual love interests SJ (a Jewish White girl) and Melo (a White-passing biracial girl). As powerful as Dear Martin is in its portrayal of Black boyhood, its depiction of Black girlhood is nonexistent. Stone has written a number of acclaimed books featuring Black girls as protagonists, so libraries looking to elevate diverse voices should include multiple titles from her catalog alongside Dear Martin for maximum impact.

Stone, Nic. Dear Martin. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2017. ISBN 9781101939529. Paperback, $12.99.