Dear Justyce

Quan is the protagonist of Dear Justyce. Depicted as an older teenager in the present day, Quan is seen at various ages throughout the book. After his father is arrested, Quan lives with his mother, her boyfriend, and his younger half-brother and half-sister. Being the oldest child in the family, Quan adopts more responsibilities than most children do at a young age. He gets his brother and sister up in the morning and gets them ready for school, and he makes sure they have something to eat when food is scarce. Quan is loving and self-sacrificing, and he craves personal connections with others. He is described as “thoughtful. Dedicated. Fiercely loyal, even to a fault” (200), as we see when he refuses to “snitch” on the member of his gang who actually killed Officer Castillo. Although he can be impulsive and make poor choices, Quan is highly intelligent and has a good heart.

Quan is eager to please the adults in his life, especially when he is still in middle school. He studies hard for his math test to please his favorite teacher. He tries to make decisions that he thinks his father would be proud of, and when he does well in school, he can’t wait to tell his mother and see the look of pride on her face.