Reanna's Book Realm

Justyce is not allowed to be a care-free, regular teenage boy. He’s not allowed to be these things because he is a person of color, and in present day America, that puts a target on his back. And on the night he’s arrested, it doesn’t matter that he’s on his way to Yale or that he is a loving person, all that matters is he’s a black boy seen with a drunk, white-passing girl at two a.m. He hasn’t done anything wrong, but he’s arrested and held for hours, only to not have any charges filed against him. In the months following his arrest, Justyce is forced to examine his relations with American culture while being in an environment that denies his struggles. The minute I heard the premise of Dear Martin I knew I wanted to read it. In the past years, the collection of published YA books has broadened in diversity, not to say that there isn’t always room for improvement. Originally, this book reminded me of The Hate U Give , one of my favorites this year. Now that I’ve read both books...

To everyone at her school with a predominantly white population, Starr is the cool black girl that’s part of a semi-athletic group of friends, and has a sweet yet oblivious boyfriend. That’s about all they know about her. They don’t know that she lives across town in Garden Heights, an area that’s known as the ghetto. Basically, she’s apart of two polar opposite communities, and Starr has to put on a different face for each one. At school, she worries about her attitude and her actions, which in the wrong light, could place her in the stereotype of the “angry black woman”. At home, she’s ridiculed for losing her roots. They’ve always been separate, until a ride home with her friend Khalil in Garden Heights, when they’re pulled over by a cop. Both unarmed, Khalil is taken out of the car, without a clear reason why. While they wait for the cop to return to the car, Khalil moves toward Starr in the car to check on her, and is shot dead. Being the only witness to Khalil brutal murder, Sta...