I usually read books from the library or digitally from free library apps like Libby. If I like them, I recommend them here on my blog. But recently I liked two books so much that I ended up buying them after the fact. My kids have already read them and I plan on lending them out to others because they were that good!
The first of those two is today’s recommendation, a middle-grade graphic novel called New Kid by Jerry Craft.
As I said, both my children (ages 9 and 12) have already read this book and liked it a lot. It is funny and sweet for kids. But what I found helpful and appreciated about it as an adult was the way it illuminated the subtle racism and the microagressions that are in our everyday life. The main character, Jordan, is a black boy who is attending a new private school and is one of the few people of color attending. The story is about how he adjusts to being there and how he puts up with a lot of things that my kids and I would probably never even think about. Jordan spends the year making friends and learning to understand other people, even as they get to know him. The book just has a lot of heart and would be a good read for anyone.
From Amazon:
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?
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