Class Act

New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft returns with a companion book to New Kid, winner of the 2020 Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Kirkus Prize. This time, it’s Jordan’s friend Drew who takes center stage in another laugh-out-loud funny, powerful, and important story about being one of the few kids of color in a prestigious private school.

Eighth grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying “You have to work twice as hard to be just as good.” His grandmother has reminded him his entire life. But what if he works ten times as hard and still isn’t afforded the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted?

To make matters worse, Drew begins to feel as if his good friend Liam might be one of those privileged kids. He wants to pretend like everything is fine, but it's hard not to withdraw, and even their mutual friend Jordan doesn't know how to keep the group together.

As the pressures mount, will Drew find a way to bridge the divide so he and his friends can truly accept each other? And most important, will he finally be able to accept himself?

New Kid, the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, is now joined by Jerry Craft's powerful Class Act.

Jerry Craft is a #1 New York Times bestselling author-illustrator who has worked on numerous picture books, graphic novels, and middle grade novels, including the Newbery Medal-winning graphic novel New Kid and its companion, Class Act. New Kid is also the winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award and the Kirkus Prize. Jerry is the creator of Mama's Boyz, an award-winning syndicated comic strip. He has won five African American Literary Awards and is a cofounder of the Schomburg Center's Annual Black Comic Book Festival. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and now lives in Connecticut.

“A well-Crafted, visually rich, truth-telling tale for our troubled times that affirms the eternal importance of friends.” -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Craft makes the story honest and believable and presents it as a powerful, if difficult to achieve, real-world possibility. Another work of resounding understanding and empathy.”
-Booklist (starred review)

“Lightning strikes twice as Craft again produces a funny and appealing yet sensitive and nuanced middle grade tale of inequity and microaggressions.”
-School Library Journal (starred review)

“Hilarious and heartfelt. Craft adeptly balances poignant questions…with laugh-out-loud moments of adolescence, making Class Act a substantial snapshot of the interior life of boys, especially Black boys who are too often not afforded such attention, love, and care.”
-The Horn Book (starred review)