New Kid

Written by: Jerry Craft

First line: This is how I feel every single day of my life, like I'm falling without a parachute.

Why you should read this book: What Jordan wants to is to go to a school that offers an enhanced art education, or at least to stay in the local school where he knows everyone; what Jordan is getting, at his mother's insistence, and despite his own and his father's misgivings, is to go to a private prep school where he's one of three Black kids in his grade. As the year unfolds, he begins to make friends with all different kinds of other kids while navigating microaggressions from students and teachers alike, trying to maintain his credibility in his own neighborhood, and learning how to handle bullies and weirdos and his own insecurity. A fast-paced year later, Jordan really is a new kid, one who can stand up for himself and others and still be kind, even when that kindness hasn't necessarily been earned.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You already have a closet full of salmon-colored polo shirts and shorts.