Read my full review at between-the-shelves.com!

All Jordan Banks wants to do is draw cartoons. But his parents have a different plan for his life. Instead of going to art school, like he wants, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school for seventh grade: the Riverdale Academy Day School. Not only does Jordan have to juggle all his new home and being the new kid, he has to figure out how to balance his life in private school with his life at home.

We received an ARC of this at work, so I picked it up! And I’m so happy I did. I want to try to expand my middle grade repertoire this year, and this book seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it. Not only is the story incredibly engaging, but it also looks at how racism works its way into every day life.

The artwork here is also stunning, matching the incredible story that goes along with it. Through Jordan, Craft examines what privilege means and the way that racial bias can affect people and families of color in what might considered “safe spaces.” I particularly liked the interactions with the coach, who was always doing his best to “not be racist” even though he was making references that were. All of the interactions make the reader thing about bias, and would be a good conversation starter for the classroom!

Between the beautiful art and the important messages, this is a book you should definitely include in your 2019 reads!

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I loved everything about this; it's such an important book for all ages and the images are really well done. More to come in a review next week!