Dear Justyce

August 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Vernell LaQuan Banks Jr. is awaiting a court date in a juvenile detention center. Quan was with his friends when an interaction with a couple of police officers went sideways. Now a police officer is dead and Quan's memory of the incident is clouded by a panic attack. Although he didn't commit the crime, he knows that his previous arrest record makes him guilty in the eyes of not only the law, but also his mother. Quan's biggest supporter was Vernell LaQuan Banks Sr., but his father is in jail and can't help push Quan towards a different, brighter future. The one friend who seems to believe in him is Justyce McAllister. The two boys bonded over their fractured home lives and the love of reading. An older brother, Quan struggles to be there for his younger siblings even as his own support system slowly dissolves. Now Quan is examining all of the choices made for him, and by him, in a series of letters to Justyce. As his friendship with Justyce strengthens, he begins to see that healthier support systems can be rebuilt. This book expands the conversation about systemic racism to include young men of color who don't fit the demands of respectability politics. The circumstances that surround them and the lack of a support system for them often limits their choices. VERDICT This novel is perfect for public and school libraries who are looking to offer a nuanced perspective on the juvenile justice system.-Desiree Thomas, Worthington Lib., OH

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2020
The deck is stacked against incarcerated 16-year-old Quan as he faces up to 20 years in prison in this sequel to the New York Times bestseller Dear Martin (2017). With his father in prison, Quan works hard to excel in school, avoid his mother's abusive boyfriend, and keep his siblings from going hungry. Bright but burdened, Quan eventually begins committing petty crimes and lands in a youth detention center. Through Quan, Stone brilliantly portrays the voices of incarcerated Black youth, their trauma, hopelessness, and awareness of how fraught and fragile their futures are due to racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Quan sees a 12-year-old Black boy locked up for a year for merely associating with gang members while a 17-year-old White boy who stabbed his father eight times serves only 60 days. But Quan isn't left to fight for his freedom alone; his best friend, Justyce, makes sure of that. Quan's story is eloquently told in part through letters he writes to Justyce, who is attending college at Yale. Fans of the previous volume and new readers alike won't want to put down this unforgettable volume until they learn Quan's fate. A powerful, raw must-read told through the lens of a Black boy ensnared by our broken criminal justice system. (author's note) (Fiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from October 5, 2020
Stone tackles the American juvenile justice system and its unjust persecution of Black boys in this gritty, powerful sequel to Dear Martin. Atlanta 17-year-old Vernell LaQuan Banks Jr., called “Quan,” finds himself in the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center after being coerced into confessing to the murder of a cop. Through a series of letters to his friend, Yale pre-law student Justyce McAllister, Quan recounts his abusive home life and the desperate decisions that ultimately led to his arrest. After a hopeful revelation, Justyce enlists the help of his friend Jared Christensen; his girlfriend, Sarah-Jane Friedman; and SJ’s attorney mother to find a way to free Quan. Through Quan’s eyes, readers experience the hopelessness and solitude that have consumed his life since the traumatic arrest of his father when he was 11. Although the narrative’s letters, snapshots, flashbacks, and the midpoint addition of a second narrator may muddle the timeline, Quan’s unflinching honesty and vulnerability make him a protagonist readers will unequivocally empathize with. Stone deftly explores systemic oppression and interrogates the notion of justice, particularly in how Black boys are often treated as adults and lost in the school-to-prison pipeline. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, the Deborah Harris Agency.