Dear Martin

July 31, 2017
First-time author Stone explores an African-American student’s increasingly intense feelings of displacement in his predominantly white high school in a tense story that will grab readers’ attention and make them think. Written as a mixture of script-style dialogues, third-person narrative, and letters to Martin Luther King Jr., the novel explores high school senior Justyce McAllister’s confrontations with racism and his search for identity at a prestigious prep school, where he is one of only eight black students. After nearly getting arrested while trying to help his ex-girlfriend, who’s “stone drunk” and trying to drive herself home, Justyce becomes acutely aware of racial profiling and prejudice close to home. Pushed to the brink of despair when a close friend is shot by a white off-duty police officer, Justyce doesn’t know what to do with his anger. Though some characters are a bit one-dimensional (including Justyce’s debate partner/romantic interest and the interchangeable bros at his school), this hard-hitting book delivers a visceral portrait of a young man reckoning with the ugly, persistent violence of social injustice. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency.

Narrator Dion Graham conveys Justyce McAllister's depth of character and inner conflict. The African-American honor student's life is changed when he is the victim of racial profiling, police brutality, and wrongful arrest. Graham at first registers Justyce's confusion and shock. With equal believability, Graham depicts Justyce's anger and trauma at experiencing racism at his mostly white prep school. To better understand his emotions, Justyce begins a journal, a series of letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. In his entries, Graham reflects Justyce's isolation, suffering, and occasional moments of solace. Then, a terrible string of events occurs. Graham voices Justyce's reactions of disbelief, disgust, and, finally, hope in this powerful journey of self-discovery. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine