Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Dear Martin is a fictional story about a teenager named Justyce, a good kid and well-liked student. The story begins with Justyce trying to help his intoxicated ex-girlfriend get home safely, but this stops when a police officer shows up. The officer unjustly accuses Justyce of committing a crime and puts him in handcuffs. He is released after a few hours, but the damage is done. As the story unfolds, Justyce writes letters to Martin Luther King Jr. to see if he can understand life from the civil rights leader's perspective. Justyce notices that the incident has changed him, and he is unsure what to do with those feelings. Those feelings lead him to make mistakes. Sadly, Justyce's life is altered permanently when he and his friend Manny are shot, leading to his friend's death. The shooter was an off-duty officer who was angry that the two older boys were playing loud music in their car. As Justyce heals, he is full of anger and revenge. Likewise, accusations are hurled at him, accusing him of retaliation against the officer who shot him. School Library Journal spells out the story best by calling it "heartbreaking, profoundly moving, and often incredibly infuriating." (MacGregor, 2017)

Critical Analysis

The story takes place in the third person, and snippets are devoted to the first person. The story is fast-paced and intense but easy to read. The characters feel authentic and pull the reader in, which is why the story is so heart-wrenching. Themes include police brutality, racism, prejudice, gun violence, privilege, media bias, injustice, grief, friendship, love, and systematic racism. Readers might enjoy Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson with a similar theme regarding race, friendship, and privilege.

The book's strength is its ability to deliver an almost flawless story because of the number of interwoven and relevant themes. The weakness is that the author does not fully address media bias and systematic racism more detailedly.

Audiobook Details

This review was made using the unabridged audiobook version with the Axis 360 application. Correspondingly, the length of the audio was 4 hours and 32 minutes. The sound quality is crystal clear, and the narrator's voice is commanding. Equally, his ability to emulate multiple characters, male or female, with an understanding of their mindset is remarkable.

References

MacGregor, A. (2017, November 7). Book review: Dear Martin by Nic Stone. School Library Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://www.slj.com/story/book-review-dear-martin-by-nic-stone

Stone, N. (2017). Dear Martin. (D. Graham, Narr.) [Audiobook]Listening Library. https://bpls.axis360.baker-taylor.com/Title?itemId=0020715998&ISBN=9781524782351&isRecommendable=false&collectionType=null