Dear Martin by Nic Stone

⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

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 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.

Writing Style

This book was very hard to flow with and I realized it was because of the writing style. 

I wasn’t a fan. 

A lot of the lingo felt forced and I kinda got the vibe that Stone was overcompensating for teen dialogue today. The dialogue seemed rehearsed and I think it could have been more relevant and up to date if Stone had spent some time to immerse herself in the time and place that this story was set in. 

Here’s an example of the corny-ness I kept coming across: 

“That dude was a titan with the ladies”

I’m sorry. Titan? No teen talks like that today. And that’s just one example of many. 

Messy Climax and Sub Plots

I could tell Stone tried to fit every relevant problem that correlated with race, into this book. Which I commend her for attempting. It’s current news and prevalent in today’s society. 

BUT

A lot of the story felt rushed and sloppy. There could have been way more structure to the unraveling of everything and especially leading up to the plot. I just felt like things were all over the place and happening way too fast with no good transitions into the next sub plot. 

In the places that needed expounding, we didn’t get it. Like for example, the trial. It was like one chapter… then all of a sudden a person on trial dies and we get no explanation on that. We just get fast forwarded into a month later. This book mentally depleted me. There was no down time. 

One thing I did appreciate was the whole writing letters to Martin thing. I thought that was an interesting element to add. I also enjoyed the different view point Stone included here. We've got the one Black person struggling with acclimating to his surroundings. The other Black person struggling to fit in and appease his White friends. The White person who is actually woke and of course the White person who isn't. I also enjoyed the segments of debate. So that was something that kept me reading. 

I’m Tired of This

As a Black girl, I was really hyped for this. I try to invest in and support all the urban writers and books about the struggle of being African American in America. I feel like all the books are being eaten up because it’s a movement right now. But I have yet to find a book that really captures me on this subject. A lot of them don’t captivate the essence of Black culture. A lot of these books only focus on the struggle and forget to focus on the pride of Black people and the success and accomplishments we’ve completed as a race. 

Our audience isn’t just minorities. We’ve shown the world why and how we are mistreated this whole time. Let’s not forget to show them WHY we should be treated equally and HOW we have contributed and continue to contribute to society today.