This is a really good graphic novel for kids. The story is quite entertaining and deals with 12 year Jordan, who must navigate his first year at a private school. As a black student, it is not always easy to navigate the social structures of the predominantly white school he finds himself reluctantly attending. There are a lot of gently thought-provoking scenes and the story is very entertaining and told with great humour and lively illustrations. In the end, I was kind of expecting something a little more, though. This book is the winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal and I was expecting it to have a little more substance. While this book looked at race relations a bit, it really felt like it just brushed the surface of these issues and there wasn't as much discussion and depth as I was expecting. Overall it is still very good and it is definitely recommended.

I really was not a fan of this book. As reading it I found no interest in it.

I'm not really a graphic novel person, but this was one of my favourite graphic novels. It did a great job of showing microaggressions, not flat out racism (in most parts) but definitely quite a lot of microagressions.

I feel like as of recent, books that have been receiving a lot of hype have not lived up to it, that is not the case for this graphic. New Kid follows Jordan Banks who is sent to a prestigious private school for his seventh-grade year where he must learn to navigate the culture of his new school while also staying true to himself. This graphic really dives into the experience of a young person of color and their experience in a less than diverse community. I think many books that hit on race issues for younger audiences highlight some of the bigger racist acts, whereas this one hits on the subtleties that happen each day. I think this would be an excellent read for all young people and adults. I believe the community matters book club read this title, and I’m sure it provoked excellent discussion. I think whether it’s with family, friends, or neighbors I think this would offer wonderful discussion and perspective we can all learn from. The sequel Class Act is also out now, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Wow this book is amazing. It has some references for parents, but this is intended for middle school to high school kids. It has to do with fitting in, prejudice, etc. I loved it.

Awesome book!!!

New Kid is an interesting and enlightening graphic novel by Jerry Craft. The illustrations are fun and bring an extra bit of humor to the book. The story has an abundance of character development, making this book ideal for children who love a character driven plot. It does seem to lack excitement, so adventure lovers may wish to choose another option. This graphic novel's greatest value is that it subtly teaches the reader about racial bias and micro-aggressions hidden inside an entertaining story. When you also consider that graphic novels are often more appealing to reluctant readers, this book becomes an excellent option for a wide variety of readers with a variety of interests.

Reviewed by Miss Allison

Winner of 2020 Newbery Medal and the 2020 Coretta Scott King Award for children’s literature. This is the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Award, and it’s a good one.

I think this will be popular with many children age 10-14, with perhaps added appeal for African-American boys – although the audience is certainly not limited to them. Most children understand the problems of going to a new school, of finding your place in the school hierarchy, of differences in social class, of making friends, of the daily fear of embarrassment that you will say something dumb in school.

Jordan Banks is changing schools for 7th grade. His parents have gotten him into an exclusive private school where he will be one of the few black students. Jordan is a talented cartoonist and wants to go to art school instead. He has to navigate the expectations of being around rich kids (even one of the other black students has a CEO father and vacations in Tuscany), of mildly racist and indifferent teachers who can’t remember which black kid is which and who assume that the Black kids must be the aggressors in any conflict; and mildly racist classmates who assume that all the Black kids are on financial assistance, love fried chicken, and are star athletes.

There is a lot of humor but also much wisdom that I think will stick with the children who read this. One of the major benefits of reading is to see the world through someone else’s eyes, and this completely succeeds at that.

A riveting read and masterclass in microaggressions, this middle-grade graphic novel will have readers identifying with familiar feelings of being the outsider, while opening eyes to the complexities of racial identity in some brilliant ways. A must-read for teachers and kids alike.

Loved it! I listened to the audiobook as I read along in the ebook.