Nic Stone will close out her YA Dear Martin series with the newly announced novel Dear Manny, set for release from Crown Books for Young Readers on March 25, 2025.
Fans of the series will recognize white college junior Jared, star of Dear Manny who was first introduced in Dear Martin. Jared is leading the polls in the race for class president until a transfer student arrives and enters the race with criticisms about Jared’s privilege he’s never had to address. To help him navigate, Jared begins writing letter to his late friend Manny in hopes that the process will help him see things differently.
“This is a book about subconscious social hierarchies, the democratic process, and inclusivity—all from the viewpoint of a person who, until very recently, never had to think much about any of it,” Stone said in a release.
Stone noted that centering the voice of white student Jared could be surprising, as it wasn’t something she herself would have considered earlier in her career. “Had you asked me while writing Dear Martin if I would ever consider narrating from Jared’s perspective, I would’ve laughed out loud,” Stone said. “But since Dear Martin’s publication in 2017, conversations about race relations have consistently come to the forefront of American consciousness. Both Jared and real-life white boys I met on school visits would come to me to share their stories—stories vastly different from Justyce’s and Quan’s, yet equally as important with regard to the pursuit of racial equity.”
Dear Martin, the series starter, was named a William C. Morris Debut YA Award finalist. In a 2019 interview with PW, Stone shared that Dear Martin was written in response to the murders of Black people across the country such as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Dear Justyce, the second in the series released in 2020, earned an NAACP Image Award nomination.
The deal for North American rights was brokered by Phoebe Yeh, VP and editor at large for Crown Books for Young Readers, and Mollie Glick at Creative Artists Agency.
“Nic has an amazing ability to speak candidly to readers through her powerful words and honest stories, and nowhere can this be seen more than in Dear Manny,” Yeh said in a statement. “Through the outlook of Jared, a white character from both Dear Martin and Dear Justyce, this book examines popular topics, such as what it means to be a true ally and what it takes to create a progressive future. Nic has written another timely book. And a necessary one.”
