New Kid

Jordan Banks is a seventh grader who loves drawing cartoons and dreams of attending a prestigious art school. His parents enroll him in Riverdale Academy Day School, a private school where he is one of the few students of color. The move sets the stage for a year of culture shock as Jordan adjusts from his familiar neighborhood and public school to an environment shaped by wealth, expectations, and unspoken rules. At Riverdale Jordan works hard to fit in while keeping his identity intact. He finds himself code switching, changing how he speaks and behaves depending on the setting, and encountering well-meaning compliments that reveal assumptions about race and ability. He navigates classroom microaggressions and awkward exchanges with teachers and classmates, and he juggles relationships with both new classmates and friends from his old school. The book uses humor and visual storytelling to show how small moments accumulate into larger questions about belonging. As the school year progresses, Jordan faces sharper conflicts that force him to evaluate who supports him and who misunderstands him. Friendships are tested when classmates act insensitively, and Jordan begins to see how privilege and stereotype shape everyday interactions at Riverdale. He also finds allies and community; other students of color, sympathetic teachers, and moments of self-expression give him tools to cope. Throughout, Jordan processes his experiences through sketches and comics, using art to record and resist the narrow roles others try to assign him. By the end of the story Jordan grows more confident in asserting his identity and his ambitions. He learns strategies for speaking up, choosing friends, and staying true to his creative voice, rather than simply trying to blend in. The graphic novel balances humor and honest critique, offering an accessible exploration of race, class, and adolescence. Its visual format and candid narration make it a strong entry point for classroom conversations about identity, allyship, and the daily realities of systemic bias.