Thank you to Netgalley for providing with a free ebook copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Description:
Jordan, Drew, Liam, Maury, and their friends from Riverdale Academy Day School are heading out on a school trip to Paris. As an aspiring artist himself, Jordan can’t wait to see all the amazing art in the famous City of Lights.
But when their trusted faculty guides are replaced at the last minute, the school trip takes an unexpected–and hilarious–turn. Especially when trying to find their way around a foreign city ends up being almost as tricky as navigating the same friendships, fears, and differences that they struggle with at home.
Will Jordan and his friends embrace being exposed to a new language, unfamiliar food, and a different culture? Or will they all end up feeling like the “new kid”?
My Thoughts
Usually when the first book in a series is as unique as The New Kid, the rest of the series can be a dissapppointment because it doesn’t feel as fresh. But this series keeps getting better. I would recommend reading them in order, so that you know the characters and their relationships.
The kids at Riverdale Academy Day School don’t go on run-of-the-mill field trips. They go places like Paris, Alaska and the Civil Rights Trail. Jordan is in the group that goes to Paris. In this new setting, the kids discover things about each other they never knew.
It is tough to find books with the silliness kids love while also making them think. Craft openly says he writes books he wished he had as a kid, and kids today are grateful to have them. School Trip is filled with puns and dad jokes that had me laughing out loud. But, it also addresses head-on the issues POC face. I loved that the kids had a natural, open dialogue about their feelings.
See also: my post about New Kid