New Kid

I really enjoyed “New Kid” by Jerry Craft. I love how we visualize what’s occurring and how Jordan processes the info. It has a good balance between humor, advice, social commentary, and character complexity. Since it's a different mode of interaction, different character backgrounds can be explored and understood. An example of the balance is through his struggle to fit in. The humorous portion is him exclaiming “I’m Batman!” As he leaves the house, as the story progresses we see his struggle to fit in at school and in his neighborhood. It reminded me of Starr Carter in “The Hate You Give.”

 I found humor in the play on words used for the chapter titles, the call-backs to previous scenes, and dynamics between some characters. I loved how Drew stands up to Ms. Rawle and proceeds to make her uncomfortable by playing into her stereotypes. Craft uses humorous dynamics to unveil ignorance and complexities of life. Throughout the book three similarities between characters are acknowledged (i.e. insecurity, fear of judgment or speaking up) while also emphasizing the differences in those similarities. I think this book accomplishes what Tyler Perry attempted to do: depict what are the realities of life for the Black community, lessen the cultural divide, allow new opportunities for communication around difficult topics and create a sense of unity.  

I like how Craft comments on racism, lack of diversity, code-switching, the bystander effect, social status, economic status, stereotypes names, different point of views etc in a way that is not overwhelming like other books we have read because of the interactivity: different art forms, humor, panel sizes etc.