New Kid

New Kid is a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist grows as a person through building friendships and developing confidence. In Jordan’s case, he already knows he has a passion for cartooning but cannot pursue them because his parents want him to go to an elite private school. Jerry Craft uses Jordan’s sketchbook to illustrate his perspective of how the world works, whether it’s the correct way to give a handshake or the food-chain hierarchy of cafeteria tables. Craft uses figurative imagery outside of sketches too; the book begins with Jordan falling through space to symbolize the lack of control he has over his life.

This story is also about Jordan juggling his life in Washington Heights, a historically Black neighborhood where many residents have ties to the Dominican Republic, and the mostly white Riverdale Academy Day School. Washington Heights, in New York City’s central borough of Manhattan, has endured prolonged periods of gang-related violence in the past. As the neighborhood addressed these problems, it also faced the challenge of gentrification, a process in which higher rent and cost of living drive out the original residents, often people of color. While Jordan benefits from loving parents who paid for private school, they need financial aid to send him to RAD even with full-time jobs that require a college education. Riverdale is a middle-class neighborhood in the Bronx, New York City’s northernmost borough. However, RAD benefits from the donations that wealthy parents like Liam’s gives to the school, as Jordan notes the vast greenery and buildings named after donors.

Jordan has the challenges that every new student face: navigating a new school, fitting into the social pyramid, and dealing with bullies like Andy. But he also changes how he presents himself in these two environments. People of color often refer to this practice as code switching. In his neighborhood, Jordan hides under a window to keep others to see him in the expensive Hummer that Liam’s father drives and squirms when Kirk sees him leaving the vehicle. In Chapter 2, he sees other students call Maury, a Black student, a nickname that rhymes with Oreo—meaning a Black person who is “White on the inside” (26). In this panel, Craft depicts Maury’s weeping face as an actual Oreo. Insults like this imply that the person is a sellout to their roots—especially since Oreos are a cheap snack food. Jordan’s knowing response to the insult foreshadows a later flashback where students at his previous school tease him for his lighter skin color.

As Jordan encounters difficult social challenges, Craft uses humor to lighten the mood. Jordan’s sketchbook uses a simplistic pen-and-paper art style to explain how he understands the world, and Jordan often tells the reader when he doesn’t know the meaning of a term. For example, in his guide to handshakes, he draws an actual “dead fish” because he doesn’t know his dad is referring to how a person’s arm swings around when they give a weak handshake (9). Later, Chuck gives an overly firm handshake to Liam’s dad. Craft depicts the half-asleep students on their way to their first day of class as lumbering zombies. When Jordan isn’t sketching, Craft depicts his emotions using cherubs, such as when they unroll a “Hallelujah” sign upon Jordan finding the first student of color at RAD.

The chapter titles and artwork in New Kid are references to popular books and movies. For example, the first three titles are homages to classic military textbook The Art of War, fantasy novel The Hobbit: There and Back Again, and science fiction novel The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. While most of these stories are for older audiences, younger readers may recognize the names and visual motifs.