101 pages • 3 hours read
Nic StoneDear Martin
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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In this novel, Stone incorporates various writing styles, including a third-person limited omniscient narrator, letters to Dr. King, and play-like dialogue. What purpose does this mix of styles serve? Is each approach effective?
Justyce and Jared each experience change over the course of the novel. How has each of them changed? Are they more similar at the beginning or the end of the novel?
Stone's novel focuses on Dr. King's teachings, and she includes a quote from him as an epigraph: "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final words in reality." By the end of the novel, would Justyce agree with Dr. King's belief? What experiences and realizations might have led him to that stance?
Justyce and Manny are best friends. What do they have in common? How are they different from one another?
Jared and SJ debate whether there is equality in America today. Using events from the novel, argue one side of this debate.
Justyce's mother is against Justyce's romance with SJ, but Manny is all for it. Explain each of their perspectives and why each character likely feels the way they do.
What is the Black man's curse? How do Quan and Justyce each respond to its existence? Why does each of them respond in the way that they do?
Martel is charismatic. Why might young men like Quan and Trey gravitate toward him? Why does Justyce? What might Stone be suggesting about some gang members?
Throughout the novel, Stone includes cases of police violence and racial profiling against Black teens. Using Justyce and Manny's reactions, what message might Stone be communicating with these events?
After a difficult senior year, Justyce moves forward into his bright future with what seems to be a positive attitude. Who and what have allowed him and helped him to reach this place by the end of the novel?
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