Dear Justyce (2020)

Dear Justyce (2020)

YA fiction
Author Nic Stone did something rare and beautiful. She wrote a
reader requested sequel to one of her popular books. Justyce, the
protagonist of Dear Martin, had made his way out of the ghetto to
Yale. Stone thought she was done with him. Then she got text mails
from two boys who talked about not being able to go to a good college
or even have the assurance of living past 18, boys with friends and
family members doing time. They wanted her to write about kids more
like them, to be their voice.
So she did.
Quan, narrator of Dear Justyce, and Justyce meet in a rocket
ship that is part of a playground when they're really young. Quan is
fleeing his violent stepfather. Justyce's ex military father has
"episodes" when he drinks too much."
The boys grow up in basically the same neighborhood. But their
trajectories diverge widely. Where Justyce becomes a pre law student
at Yale, Quan ends up at a youth detention center. Justyce doesn't
give up on his chum. As they keep in touch by mail, he tries to help
him in any way he can.
Stone skilfully blends a series or snapshots, longer narratives,
and letters to illuminate the story of a boy who saw his father
arrested in the middle of the night and violently torn from his life,
worked really hard in school only to be accused of cheating, had to
steal to keep his little sister and brother from going hungry, and
confessed to a crime he didn't commit out of loyalty to his street
family.
As his trial for a murder he didn't commit gets closer, the
state offers Quan a plea bargain. At this point he's been waiting for
well over a year for a trial date. If he pleads guilty to voluntary
maslaughter he may get out of prison before he turns thirty.
His court appointed lawyer, new to his case, is "blown away" by
the offer.
But Justyce thinks he can help him get a better deal, maybe even
walk free.
Dear Justyce is a riveting coming of age narrative with a lot of
inconvenient truths. For this reason I consider it a must read for
not only its target demographic, but well beyond.
On a purrrsonal note, the tree is still up but not for long. I'm
making my yearly transition from reading, resting, and relaxing to
active (as active as possible under the circumstances) and ambitious.
This year this involves a certain amount of impatience to get the
vaccine and get back on campus where I can be more productive. Today
I heard of a new COVID strain that doesn't respond to the current
vaccine and was all, OMG, noooooo! Without my counselor and my cat
I'd be a lot more impatient and frustrated. (Jules)
I earn my Nine Lives and Little Friskies. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Libbey and all the other counselors
who are helping so many people cope.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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