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Random Minis: Dear Martin

12

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Random Minis: Dear Martin

4.7

Highest ranking 101

8 comments

$12

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C. WongReviewed in the United States on June 5, 2024

I loved this book. Justyce, seventeen year old senior was feeling the searing burns of racism from some of the white students at the school he went to. He had a friend, Manny and love for S.J., a pretty Jewish white girl who pushed for racial equality, It is a short book but there is a whole lot packed into it. I can believe a lot of this gritty tale and I want the letters written by Justyce to Martin Luther King, Js. answered. You really get how hard it is to be non-violent when so much is wrong. Justyce learns that violence can never be the answer but at times it seems that cards are all stacked against him. His biracial friend, Doc, one of his teachers gives great advice. There is tragedy, brotherhood and enduring words in this book.

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Heather LeighReviewed in the United States on September 21, 2020

Dear Martin by Nic Stone is an uncomfortable read but that’s the point. The truth in it will make your stomach cramp and at times I found myself internally yelling, “Don’t do that!!” In a time of uncertainty and false information, Dear Martin shines a light on how facts can be twisted to fit into whatever narrative a person wants to tell. Interpretation is everything and can bring a good man down. I cried through most of it, but I could not put this book down! Justyce knows there is violence and racial profiling but he believes if he does the right thing and makes good decisions that those problems won’t touch him. He’s an intelligent over-achiever living outside Atlanta GA. Growing up poor and black, his high grades earn him a scholarship to a prestigious private high school. He is an excellent example of a success story, poster boy material. Then he arrested for trying to do a favor for a friend which rips the blinders off his innocence and traumatizes him. Justyce begins a solo project to find answers by living by the words of Martin Luther King Jr. He begins to write him letters hence the title. Once he sees the ugliness and racism in the world, he can’t unsee it. It affects all aspects of his life and his life begins to spiral downward. It’s so hard to read. It hurt my heart. I don’t know much but I do know I’ve lived with the advantage of white privilege and it’s difficult to comprehend how that has shaped my life. I feel like I also had binders on that were ripped away and the shock of the state of our world is jarring. I truly believed, from my very comfortable white life, that we had made great strides in combatting racism. But it is clear that we still have a long way to go, and in some ways, we are not much farther than when Dr. King led peaceful protests. Dear Martin exemplifies many different perspectives and is eye opening. It weaves a twisted plot through truth and untruths. There are the BIG issues with the very real teenage issues like dating, friendships and fitting in. It is a must-read book. I highly recommend it.

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Michelle HReviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017

This is a simple, stark book about very messy, real topics. About keeping your sanity in an insane world. The author NAILED Jus's voice- I've never seen anybody sound more like a teenage boy that wasn't actually a teenage boy. Jus is a nice guy, but not too nice. I love him in the opening scene, when he's helping his drunk ex girlfriend, and you can really see how starstruck he is by a hot girl being into him, and his very "guy" reactions to her, but also his inherent decency because even when she makes it hard for him, he's going to do the right thing. The book jumps headlong into debates about a lot of uncomfortable things, and I like how many different perspectives it provides through its characters, some sympathetic, some very much not. Jus is surrounded by people, white and black, and those who help him and those who hold him back come from both sides of the racial divide. I love how there's a character to play out every different philosophical perspective, but none of them, not ONE seems flat or one-dimensional or "made up to play a purpose." The amazing magic trick that this book pulls is that even though it never breaks tone, and is purely through the voice of a teenage boy, there's also a gravity to the language and the way the ideas are presented that zooms the camera back and makes you feel the weight of being a part of a very important moment in history. It inspires you (you, me, all of us) to be better, even (especially) if the people around us are being worse. And I love the end. Because it's not a big speech. It's not a huge turning point. It's a quiet demonstration of the only way that change really happens: through a connection between two individuals, and a single spark of hope. Unforgettable.

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BLACK PERSEOReviewed in Mexico on June 20, 2021

Libro en ingles, tapa blanda. Tiene una temática de BLM, donde nos presenta diferentes formas de racismo a la que se enfrentan algunas comunidades de Estados unidos.

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Oscar V.Reviewed in Spain on May 21, 2024

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Tania OliverReviewed in Australia on October 17, 2024

Perfect Love it Thankyou

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Paulo A. BorelliReviewed in Brazil on November 17, 2020

This is a great book for teenagers. It may help adults like me (I'm 49 yo), but teens will be really immersed in this reading. For me, the book is valuable because: - the well-arranged fiction explains the whole story behind the matters related to black people in the US. - it discusses the pros and cons of the affirmative policies, particularly when a conflict occurs in the classroom between different points of view, while the students discuss and interpret one major fact that occurred to one of them. - I would say it’s like a honest “introduction to black matters for teenagers” (and also for adults who are in such need).

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Michelle StroudReviewed in Canada on June 24, 2020

I couldn't put this book down and passing it on next to my 13 year old son. It's such an important read. Everything Justyce experiences makes me sad, though it wasn't shocking, it was disturbing enough to keep me thinking about it at night. I think that's important. To understand how others experience life helps us to have compassion, to be grateful for our own circumstances and inspired to help make change.