True True

Gr 8 Up–Being the new kid is never easy, but Gil’s differences are magnified as a Black, Brooklyn public school senior-year transfer to a predominantly white, exclusive Manhattan prep academy. The potential rewards—the robotics club, the investment into his future—initially seem worth the risks. The greatest dangers are in Augustin Prep’s tony halls, when he’s attacked by a group of overprivileged white boys and the administration, of course (led by Headmaster DeSantis, ahem), unjustly sides with the power. Gil must control his anger; he turns to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to figure out how to empower himself and eventually help others. Narrator Grant makes a prodigious debut: beyond Gil, he’s effortlessly facile with all manner of accents, ages, and backgrounds; his fabulous, fierce Granma is an unforgettable marvel.