Review: Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Author: Nic Stone
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Number of Pages: 210
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Synopsis:

"Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League—but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out.
Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack."

I honestly wish there was more to this book. I wanted more pages than what was given to me so I was left feeling a little disappointed with how the book ended. 

This book was powerful, no doubt about it, but I was expecting a lot more from it. The first 80 to 90 pages of the book I was left unimpressed. I was left frustrated with the writing style and how the story was progressing. I just felt that the book itself was unfinished and could have been expanded on more that would have been amazing. It was like this book was the bones of a story and nothing more, no muscle and tissues to make it whole. 

"Them fools don't wanna hear when they're being offensive. They couldn't care less what it's like to live in our skin."

The second half of the book was where it got interesting and I started to get interesting for me. I got used to the writing style, even though I still didn't love it, and I was more invested in his story. The way he was treated after the run-in with the cop made the book more real and intriguing. 

I was still left feeling like there was more than was unsaid by the novel. SJ and Jus's story could have been expanded on, Manny's character just switched on the issue of his friends so easily, and Jared's story... I just felt that the character development was there just not written down in a way that was understandable to me. I needed more of an explanation and more information before I could really believe what I was reading. 

I loved the premise and idea behind Jus's story, but I felt that the execution left more to be desired. The second half of Dear Martin was what saved the book for me.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars!