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Nic Stone is the author of the New York Times bestselling Dear Martin, Odd One Out and Jackpot. She was born in Atlanta and has lived and in Israel, working extensively in teen mentoring. Growing up with a wide range of cultures, religions, and backgrounds, Stone strives to bring these diverse voices and stories to her work.
This Middle Grade debut from award-winning YA author Nic Stone (I adored her Dear Martin novel) features one-of-kind characters and true-to-life struggles underpinned by a special relationship between a boy and his grandma, and the segregation history of the American South. It’s also powerful on themes of racism, making amends, and complex family dynamics. In big trouble at school and fearing his dad has lost faith in him, eleven-year-old Scoob has had a rough time of it of late, so the prospect of going on a road-trip with his gloriously willful grandma seems pretty good. Travelling with the Green Book guide that lists ‘safe’ places for African Americans to travel, G’ma takes them to places she and her deceased husband visited on a trip decades ago, though they didn’t make it the whole way. Among these sites are the bombed church where civil rights activists used to gather, including Dr Martin Luther King, and the former home of Medgar Wiley Evers, a black soldier who fought in WWII and came home to fight for civil rights. As their journey progresses, Scoob is increasingly freaked out by G’ma’s actions and state of mind. “Looks like we’re both trying to make a run for it,” she remarks, leading Scoop to anxiously wonder what she’s running from, and what she’s trying to make amends for. During their moving page-turner of a trip, the story reveals how unjust life was for African Americans during segregation, and how hard it was for Scoob’s African American G-pop and white G’ma to be a young married couple. Gripping, moving and informative, this is a wonderfully warm read, and Scoob’s perspective is spot-on for the age-group.
This endearing character-driven treasure from the award-winning author of Dear Martin is a race-against-time romance replete with real-life hardship, class conflict and hope. Rico is a high school senior who works at Gas ‘n’ Go after class to keep her family afloat and then races home to look after her little brother so her mom can pick up extra shifts. In the intensity and exhaustion of this hamster-stuck-in-a-ball situation Rico’s lost sight of what she wants for her future, but selling a jackpot-winning lottery ticket gives her new focus: to find the little old lady she believes won the ticket. Then maybe – just maybe – she’ll be rewarded with a life-changing cut of the multi-million-dollar winnings. To this end, Rico reluctantly enlists the help of handsome, rich “Zan-the-Man”, a tech whizz who “has no idea what it’s like to constantly be on the brink of not having what you need to survive.” But, as Rico discovers, while Zan’s set to take over the throne of his family’s toilet paper empire, his dad has made sure he knows the value of money. Their opposite-side-of-the-tracks narrative plays out with heated banter and feverish frisson, with class conflict rearing its head at every turn as Rico struggles to accept Zan’s generosity just like her mom refuses to apply for government support. Quirkiness comes courtesy of interludes told from the points of views of inanimate objects - the winning ticket, a taxi, a stash of $100 dollar bills, Zan’s fancy bed sheets, a salt shaker – and the novel’s conclusion is as thrilling and life-affirming as it is unexpected. Readers will be left rooting for Rico and Zan to forge the futures they deserve.
May 2018 Debut of the Month | One of our 2018 Books of the Year | Picture this. You’re an honors student with a top university in your sights. You work hard, and you follow your mother’s advice to always put your best foot forward. So how come, when you help a friend in need, you’re man-handled by the police and arrested? How come the cops tell you that they “know your kind...Just couldn’t resist the pretty white girl who’s locked her keys in her car, could ya?” As Yale-bound African American Justyce knows only too well, “things aren’t as equal as folks say they are”. At every turn he’s caught between worlds: a white classmate attributes his success to positive discrimination, while he’s accused of being a race traitor by some of his black peers. He airs this elemental conundrum with SJ, his debate partner: “white people hold most positions of authority in this country. How do I deal with the fact that I DO need them to get ahead without feeling like I’m turning my back on my own people?” And what’s he supposed to do when he falls for SJ and his mama’s dead against him dating a white girl? As the compelling, gut-wrenching story unfolds, Justyce writes a journal to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. to work through his thoughts, vent his frustrations and to ask what Dr King would do in his situation. Then a tragedy strikes that threatens to disarm Justyce’s pledge to do as Martin would do. Important, timely and unforgettable, this powerful exposé of racism, injustice and the injuriousness of profiling articulates the persistent everyday battles faced by thousands of kids in Justyce’s shoes with scorching lucidity. Quite simply, everyone must read this poignant punch-packer of a debut.
From New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes an all-new upper-middle-grade series based on one of the Marvel Universe's break-out characters - Shuri, from Black Panther! An original, upper-middle-grade series starring the break-out character from the Black Panther comics and films: T'Challa's younger sister, Shuri! Crafted by New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone. Shuri is a skilled martial artist, a genius and a master of science and technology. But, she's also a teenager. And a princess. This story follows Shuri as she sets out on a quest to save her homeland of Wakanda. For centuries, the Chieftain of Wakanda (the Black Panther) has gained his powers through the juices of the Heart-Shaped Herb. Much like Vibranium, the Heart-Shaped Herb is essential to the survival and prosperity of Wakanda. But something is wrong. The plants are dying. No matter what the people of Wakanda do, they can't save them. And their supply is running short. It's up to Shuri to travel from Wakanda in order to discover what is killing the Herb, and how she can save it, in the first volume of this all-new, original adventure.
From the bestselling author of Dear Martin comes an illuminating exploration of old friendships, new crushes and the path to self-discovery. When it comes to love, attraction and relationships, nothing is simple. Courtney Cooper and Jupiter Sanchez have been best friends and neighbours since they were seven years old. And despite Courtney's best efforts to suppress it, he can't help being hopelessly in love with Jupe. But a relationship with the girl next door isn't in the cards because Jupiter has been out of the closet for almost as long as she's known Courtney. Then Rae Chin moves to town, and Courtney thinks he's finally found a girl he could fall for who isn't Jupiter. The only problem: Jupiter is falling for Rae, too. One story. Three sides. No easy answers. PRAISE FOR DEAR MARTIN: `A powerful, wrenching, and compulsively readable story that lays bare the history, and the present, of racism in America' John Green, bestselling author of A Fault in Our Stars 'Absolutely incredible, honest, gut-wrenching! A must-read!' Angie Thomas, bestselling author of The Hate U Give ` Painfully timely and deeply moving, this is the novel the next generation should be reading' bestselling author Jodi Picoult `Justyce's story is earnest, funny, achingly human, and unshakably hopeful. I am forever changed.' Becky Albertalli, author be Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda 'Raw and gripping' Jason Reynolds, bestselling co-author of All American Boys
"e;Absolut unglaublich, ehrlich und herzzerreiend!"e;Angie Thomas, Autorin von "e;The Hate U Give"e;Justyce McAllister ist einer der Besten seiner Klasse, Captain des Debattierclubs und Anwrter auf einen Studienplatz in Yale - doch all das interessiert den Polizisten, der Justyce die Handschellen umlegt, nur wenig. Der Grund fr seine Verhaftung: Justyce ist schwarz. Und er lebt in den USA im Jahr 2017. Mit Briefen an sein groes Vorbild Martin Luther King jr. versucht Justyce, dem alltglichen Rassismus etwas entgegenzusetzen. Und dann ist da noch Sarah-Jane, seine kluge, schne - und weie - Debattierpartnerin. Als jedoch sein bester Freund Manny erschossen wird, scheint es, als ob selbst Martin Luther King jr. keine Antwort mehr fr Justyce bereithlt.
"e;Powerful, wrenching.' JOHN GREEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down"e;Raw and gripping."e;JASON REYNOLDS, New York Times bestselling coauthor ofAll American Boys"e;A must-read!'ANGIE THOMAS, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Hate U GiveRaw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone joins industry giants Jason Reynolds and Walter Dean Myers as she boldly tackles American race relations in this stunning New York Times bestselling debut, a William C. Morris Award Finalist. Justyce McAllister is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friendbut none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. Despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. But do they hold up anymore? He starts a journal to Dr. King to find out. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned upwayup, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack."e;Vivid and powerful."e; -Booklist, Starred Review "e;A visceral portrait of a young man reckoning with the ugly, persistent violence of social injustice."e; -Publishers Weekly
