Here’s one of the year’s better books
Caribbean Life, Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2020 27
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Your birthday card had a
Black History postage stamp
on it.
As always, it was from
Grandma and though it’s kind
of corny, you look forward to
it ever year: a blue or red envelope
outside, a sentimental saying
with a few bucks tucked
inside. Other than bills, ballots,
and ads, she’s the only person
you know who snail-mails anything,
but in “Dear Justyce” by
Nic Stone, help can be delivered,
too.
The first time Vernell
LaQuan Banks ran away, he
was nine years old.
His mother’s new man had
been beating her again and
though Quan hated leaving his
little brother and sister there,
he knew it was safer for them
if he left the house. And so he
went to the park, where he met
Justyce McAllister, who was
also taking an after-dark break
from home.
They kinda knew one another;
they lived a block apart
in Southwest Atlanta and as
it turned out, Justyce’s best
friend was Quan’s cousin but
that was it. See, Justyce kept
clean, stayed in school, studied
hard, and went to some fancy
white college after graduation,
while Quan was arrested the
first time at age thirteen for
stealing a deck of cards from a
convenience store. The second
time was for possession of a
firearm. His third arrest got
him labeled as a “career criminal”
and three months in youth
detention. By then, his mother
had stopped caring what happened
to him.
And so Quan found his own
family. He joined the Black
Jihads, led by a man named
Martel who ruled his “men.“
Suddenly, there was someone
who cared where Quan was
and that he had something to
eat. The Black Jihad took care
of their own.
And in return, Quan took
care of them when something happened, quick-quick-quick.
Book cover of “Dear Justyce” by Nic Stone
Once, Justyce had visited
Quan in prison and Quan never
forgot it. On his darkest days,
he thought of Justyce and how
their lives were so different.
And so he took out a piece of
paper and took a chance at
friendship…
Argue this: sometimes, is
a choice really a choice? Or is
it like a narrow alley with one
way out, and somebody’s pushing
from behind? That’s one of
the hard questions inside “Dear
Justyce.”
Really, the entire first part
of this book is hard, starting
with author Nic Stone’s note
to her readers, explaining how
this book came to be. It sets
you up for what’s about to happen
in the story, though it
can’t prepare you enough. Not
to be a spoiler, but Quan’s letters
to Justyce are a gut-punch
and what’s toughest to take is
that teens – particularly boys,
particularly Black boys – may
recognize the raw authenticity
of every page of it.
The second half, though,
is more fictional, with a Hollywood
worthy courtroom
drama that’s a little predictable
but that’ll nonetheless please
an adult as much as it will a
14-to-17-year-old. So hand this
book to your teen, and be sure
to sneak it back for yourself.
“Dear Justyce” deserves both
your stamps of approval.
“Dear Justyce” by Nic
Stone
c.2020, Crown $18.99 /
$24.99
Canada
267 pages
“Dear Justyce” author, Nic Stone. Nigel Livingstone, August 2020
Christmas parties banned in T&T
By Nelson A. King
The government of Prime
Minister Dr. Keith Rowley
in Trinidad and Tobago
announced on Saturday a total
ban on Christmas parties in
the public sector.
The Rowley administration
in the twin-island republic also
urged the private sector to do
the same.
At the same time, the government
announced a TT$30
million (One TT dollar=US$0.16
cents) initiative aimed at assisting
persons who have lost their
jobs, or have fallen on hard
times as a result of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic,
according to the Caribbean
Media Corporation (CMC).
Prime Minister Rowley and
Minister of Health, Terrence
Deyalsingh told a news conference
in Scarborough, Tobago
that instructions will be given
to the appropriate public sector
officials to ensure that government
funding for Christmas
parties over the coming weeks
will not be entertained, according
to CMC.
“There is to be no state-sponsored
or Christmas party in
the public sector,” said Rowley,
acknowledging that the new
order would have an effect on
the economies of “those who
supply the Christmas party,”
adding that “this is to curb the
spread of the virus.”
“It ought to be not only a
holy Christmas but also a quiet
one,” said Deyalsingh, urging
nationals to celebrate within
their family unit and not invite
people to partake in the celebrations.
Rowley said he is aware
that many villas in Tobago
have been fully booked for the
Christmas Season and that,
while the government will
not prevent people residing in
Trinidad travelling to the sister
isle for the Season, he is reiterating
the need to follow all
protocols and measures put in
place to prevent the spread of
the virus that has killed 113
and infected more than 5,000
people in Trinidad and Tobago,
according to CMC.