Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Reviewed by Maansi C.
Grade 11

In the book Dear Justyce by Nic Stone, the author explores the thoughts and situations of an innocent, black young man dealing with being in prison.

Dear Justyce explains the thoughts and situations of a character named Vernell LaQuan Banks aka Quan serving time for something he didn’t do. He writes letters to his friend Justyce McAllister, who is the main character in Dear Martin, about his life in prison. Aside from the letters, each chapter also has snapshots that show instances that affect Quan's life. Some are in the present and others are situations that led to Quan being in prison. Through all the information that is learned through the snapshots and letters in the chapters, Justyce is able to try and figure out a way to help Quan out with the situation that he is in.

Author Nic Stone uses different media when writing the book. The letters give you insight as to how Quan is feeling when he is in prison and trying to talk to the outside. It makes you sympathize with him because of the emotion you feel when you read them, but that is not always shown in what he writes in the letter. The snapshots bring another element to the book. It shows the different situations that the author believes are important to the premise of the book. You can see the different situations that lead to Quan being wrongly accused and also what is happening to help him in the present. Nic Stone always comes up with interesting ways to portray her stories across and this is a great example.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested. It gives you insight into something that you might not really understand or want to learn more about. Nic Stone does an amazing job showing the discrimination and injustice that is faced every day.