Dear Martin is a fast-paced, humor-laced, realistic-fiction novel that illustrates the life of a young, black man in our current society. Written by Nic Stone, the book follows the introspective, intelligent, and pragmatic Justyce McAllister as he stumbles through his senior year of high school.

Justyce McAllister is a phenomenal student that attends an elite private school in Atlanta, Georgia. He is moral, grounded, and reserved, however, none of this matters when he is arrested unjustly by a white police officer. Stone highlights the spontaneity of racial profiling and how it is a very real and damaging reality in our present society.

Rather than buckle underneath the racial pressure inflicted upon African-Americans, Justyce decides to better himself by keeping a very unorthodox journal. This collection of compositions are a series of letters to the late Martin Luther King Jr. Justyce has no intentions of mailing the letters but hopes that he can improve his attitude and his actions when dealing with hardship, arming himself with the mantra, “what would Martin do?”

Throughout this book, Justyce wrestles with a plethora of topics that many teens also encounter on a daily basis, such as, dating, substance abuse, and even grief. He maneuvers his way through various emotions with his best friends, Manny and SJ as they balance their social lives, extracurriculars, and personal issues that are pragmatic and relatable.

One thing Nic Stone does extremely well is create interesting characters that serve as great role models for developing adolescent readers. Justyce is a level-headed, intelligent young man that is determined to carve his own path in spite of the obstacles that are slammed in his face. SJ is a strong, gifted young woman that has a fiery passion for righteousness. This book provides teens with role models that are unique and ambitious, but also practical. Justyce and SJ aren’t perfect, superhuman, or unattainable. They’re characters rooted in a reality that they didn’t ask for.

Stone effectively delivers a hard-hitting novel that is fast-paced. The writer caters to a generation with short attention spans and high-speed internet. Teens are reading less and less, but Stone keeps them engaged with a style that slaps readers with a handful of emotion and reality as soon as they consider putting down the paperback. Stone effortlessly tells a beautiful story that will leave readers teary-eyed without boring them to tears.

Dear Martin is a heart-breaking, relatable, and relevant novel that was composed by a talented, young writer who accurately mirrors America’s imperfect society. It’s a blanket of understanding for those with issues similar to Justyce’s and a practical, yet charming alarm clock to those who have yet to fully understand the feelings young African-Americans experience as they try to advance in a system that doesn’t necessarily welcome them with open arms.