ARC, 256 pages
Release Date: February 5, 2019Published by: HarperCollins
Read from: February 1, 2019Stand-aloneSource: NCTE 2018TW: N/AFor fans of: Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, POC Characters, Own Voices, MGPerfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator 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?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I don’t normally read and review graphic novels, but once in a lifetime I find one that I really love and I know that I should have been reading things by this certain author long ao. And this is one of those times. New Kid has an awesome realistic story and art that is even better. I knew I had to tell the world about this story!
Jordan Banks is going to starting at another school.A school that’s known for academics and where there aren’t many kids that look like him. As he’s attending school, he realizes that he has another identity that shows when he’s around different people. How does he decide which one is the real him?
The thing that stands out the most to me about this graphic novel is the realistic story. I don’t think I’ve read a graphic novel that I’ve related to more. At one point I went through the same thing that Jordan did. And everything that he mentioned, I can relate to that too unfortunately. There’s still times now that people ask me if I’m really a librarian or if I just work at the library. It’s less hurtful to me now because I know (sometimes) they don’t mean it, but after reading this, I think about how I might have felt when I was Jordan’s age. I’m so glad there is a graphic novel out about this part of African American teen lives. Hopefully this will grab those reluctant readers and then convince them to move on to other books like Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes.
I also really liked the art! And Craft did the art himself! I found myself doing what I always do when I read a graphic novel that I love… Read through it first and then go back and look at the art. From the lines to the coloring, I really loved the way it came out. I also loved the way he incorporated Jordan’s art into it. Each look into his journal had its own spread and I really liked that. It was so important to him, so the full spread gave the impression that it should be important to the readers as well.
This book was something that I was hand given at NCTE. I remember all the publicists talking about it and saying that readers of any age would love this one. And they were correct. This book will be a hit with anyone that has a love for friendship and art. Even if you’re not a fan of graphic novels, give this one a try. You won’t regret it.
Overall, I give this
