New Kid by Jerry Craft

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

This was a good read that dealt with real world middle school issues well. Very nice to see a graphic novel win the Newbery.

OK, so at first the drawings seemed to make me dizzy. But then I actually enjoyed it. I guess the characters started to look less 2D too. So I read this for “Great Middle Grade” Reads group's book of the month. And I gotta say, it was fine. I guess it was worth the hype... Jordan was cool and I resonated with the “I want to be an artist but still goes to academic school”, lol. His family was so supportive and nice too. And his friends, even though I found his classmates at times quite weird. I couldn't figure out Jordan's ethnicity though like he was “colored” but not as tan as the other black friends he had. His dad seemed lighter than his mom, and he liked Chinese food a lot (as well as his grandpa) so I think maybe his dad is mixed or something, or Latino... I dunno. It's said that the school doesn't have much diversity, but I saw quite some tan, black, and Asian-looking peeps, so it wasn't too bad. Even though his glasses teacher was really annoying. It was fun, I recommend it to MG, graphic novels, diversity books, etc.

Every choice here is excellent. The humor is zingy and current, the teen voices are accurate, the microagressions and depictions of well meaning and much-less-well-meaning teachers are true and deep, the family and friend relationships live and breathe. Wow. So good. The chapter titles all as puns/jokes on movies and books was particularly delightful. So much for kids, teens, and adults to unpack and discuss. This should be cleaning up come award season!

Gah! Why did I wait so long to read this book???? I loved everything about it-the character growth, the illustrations, the warmth and humor. This is a perfect book for my 5th graders as they get ready to start middle school and become “the new kid.” I also loved the message of looking beneath the surface and really getting to know someone for who they are but also giving new situations a chance. Another addition for my classroom library.