Why read Dear Martin?

Book cover of Dear Martin

Book description

'Absolutely incredible, honest, gut-wrenching! A must-read!' Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give
' Painfully timely and deeply moving, this is the novel the next generation should be reading' Jodi Picoult
'Justyce's story is earnest, funny, achingly human, and unshakably hopeful. I am forever changed.' Becky Albertalli, author of…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Dear Martin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Wade Hudson

Author

Nic Stones’s first book is a classic. When an altercation between a retired white police officer and his best friend turns violent, Justyce, a Black teenager, is forced to examine what it means to be a Black in America.

Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a journal that Justyce keeps helps him come to terms with this challenging reality.

From Wade's list on The best books for young readers about the growing up Black in the United States.

Wayne Ng

Author

This racial identity awakening book reminds me of The Hate U Give.

Justyce McAllister is going places as a rare student who is Black in a very white thinking and acting milieu. He is victimized by police brutality and racism and slowly roused to the wider, more complex world around him. He tries to channel Dr. Martin Luther King by writing to him.

The book’s strength is in how Nic Stone captures the voice of Justyce and his cohort. Stone nails teen angst, confusion, and anger while simultaneously stirring readers, especially those on the pathway to ‘wokeness’.

From Wayne's list on The best epistolary books written from the gut.