By Jerry Craft
Harper, 2019. Graphic novel.
All Jordan Banks wants is to draw cartoons in his sketchbook and go to the special arts school. But instead, his parents insist that he attend the prestigious Riverdale Academy Day School since he's smart enough to get in. This means that Jordan has to ride a bus from his apartment in Washington Heights all the way to R.A.D. everyday where his classmates wear salmon colored shorts and his homeroom teacher keeps calling the black students by the wrong name - because she can't tell them apart. For Jordan, his new school - where he is one of a handful of Black students - is one filled with microaggressions and sometimes overt racism.
The tension in this very realistic graphic novel is loosened up by humor that feels true to a seventh grade boy and realistic characters who are both likable and distinct. The three-dimensionality of all the characters in this book, which some teachers at Jordan's school seem eager to squelch, is something to celebrate. We're reminded time and time again by Jordan, by looks into his sketchbook, and by a richly nuanced cast of secondary characters that there is more to people than what meets the eye. This is a humorous and engaging graphic novel filled with social commentary that opens doors to more discussion.
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