Dear Martin

Book 23 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 27 - 28

Dear Martin

by Nic Stone

Summary (excerpted from Goodreads)

published 2017

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.

My Opinion

5 stars

My 16 year old daughter came to me for a book recommendation for an English project.  They'd finished reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" as a class and the assignment was to individually read a contemporary book by a diverse author.  The goal of the project was to compare the two to see if English classes should continue to use the same "required reading" list year to year (or to quote my daughter, "old books by dead white guys") - are the classics still relevant or should new titles be rotated through as well?  She'd used "The Hate U Give" for multiple projects last year and was ready to branch out so I thought of this book.  She read it first and then I read it.  I will include her thoughts after mine.

This book isn't really something that I can summarize in a review but I really want to talk about it with people that have read it.  Part of the reason it hit me so hard as I was reading is because I hadn't read the full description of the book (the book jacket doesn't have much information) so I thought I knew what the main act of the book was and had no idea what was coming.  Even saying that makes me leery so I will end it there to avoid spoilers.  The ending and some of the character arcs were a little much but this is an easy 5 star rating because I FELT and REACTED to this book.  I highly recommend this book and then I have a million things to say!

Alison's Opinion (age 16)

"It was really good.  I liked it.  I would recommend it.  For my project, the events in this book were more relatable to me than "To Kill A Mockingbird".  I don't think we should be forced to only read old books as part of class when there are newer books that we're reading on the side that give the same lessons.  I think this would be a good addition to a class reading list."

Quote from the Book

"It's like I'm trying to climb a mountain, but I've got one fool trying to shove me down so I won't be on his level, and another fool tugging on my leg, trying to pull me to the ground he refused to leave."