Drew Ellis
Drew is the protagonist of the story, a young black male attending an exclusive private school dominated by a student body comprised of far more economically privileged white kids. Like most of the other handful of black students, he is there courtesy of financial aid. Drew was introduced in the novel which preceded this, New Kid, as a secondary character to the protagonist of that story.
Jordan Banks
Jordan Banks is the protagonist and titular character of New Kid whose presence takes a back seat to Drew’s in this follow-up. Jordan was not happy to be forced to attend the school since his dream of being becoming an artist stimulates his desire to one day become a professional artist.
Andy Peterson
Andy was the antagonist of First Kid and is, if anything, even worse. He is MAGA-hat wearing privileged member of the elite who feels entitled to get whatever he wants. This personality disorder is deeply challenged by the fact that Drew beat him out for the QB position on the football team and Andy just can’t seem to get over losing and put it behind him. However, he also proves to be a desperate symbol of the hope that systemic racism is not inevitably stuck in its cycle when a prank that goes wrong forces him to see the world through the eyes of his bullied victims.
Liam Landers
Liam’s family is even more wealthy than Andy’s, but unlike him, Liam does not equate greater privilege with more rights. Despite being white and rich, both Drew and Jordan and drawn to him even over other black students because of shared interests and similar personalities.
Mr. Roche
Mr. Roche is a well-intentioned white liberal teacher who remains oblivious to his own unintended expressions of perceived racism. He tapes Drew to act as student ambassador when a group of students from an underfunded school with a predominantly African American student body visits the private school. The quite obvious divergence between the type of educational opportunities that greater wealth can buy is compounded by Mr. Roche’s embarrassing inability to property pronounce the names of the visiting black students.
