In February, I read the book New Kid by Jerry Craft. The book New Kid is a graphic novel about a new seventh grader named Jordan loves nothing more than drawing. Instead of sending him to his dream art school, his parents send him to this prestigious school known for its academics, where Jordan turns out to be one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. Every day, he makes daily trips from his hometown to this upscale Riverdale Academy day school. During his first week of school, he meets Drew and Liam, who instantly become besties! I think they are unbreakable. Jordan fights between two worlds and has a much troubled time fitting into both! Middle school is really hard for him because of all the racism, new rules, and expectations. 

I enjoyed this book as the characters felt real. Jordan’s struggles at school were very realistic and could be very relatable to all people, but mainly to the people of his kind. Not only that, but Jerry Craft is an amazing author in many ways, especially explaining Jordan’s feelings! He does this so well that at each part of the story, I feel like I’m in the book. Also, I love how each page is different, and some so many twists and turns make it so fun and engaging to read.

Jordan is my favorite character, and I say this because he is determined and very kindhearted. Jordan grew as a character in many ways. He began as a very quiet, shy student who even got bullied a lot but never stood up for himself because he was scared; he saw himself as a loser. Throughout the school year, he became loud in a good way, confident, and the best of all, stood up for himself and his peers. I can prove his action by a quote: Andy is making fun of this girl who wants to sit next to Jordan at lunch. Andy thinks he is the king of the school and no one can stop him, but to his surprise, Jordan replies and says, “You such a jerk Andy. Just back off” pg 66 even though this is still really early in the book it shows his transition in becoming who he is today! In addition, I have a quote of him being determined; as I said earlier, he dreams of attending art school. His art teacher said, “ Cool, the yearbook. Wait, is that my painting asked Jordan.” his teacher replied, “ It sure is. I hope you don’t mind. I just wanted to surprise you. I hope you like it pg 232. This quote is the perfect example of Jordan’s success. He shows that anything can be possible!

My favorite quote from the story is on page 248, and they are said by his friends: “ Bro, are you wearing PINK shorts? No, they’re not pink there (Sigh) … yeah, they are pink.” I like this quote because, throughout the story, Jordan always wears baggy clothes and keeps to himself. There has been a change. He doesn’t follow the expected rules but is free and confident about it. Also, this quote is a very good way to end the story because it shows with a little bit of work, you can become more social and confident with the way you are, no matter what color you are.