Timid

by Jonathan Todd

A semiautobiographical middle-grade graphic novel about frenemies, fitting in, and finding your voice.

Cecil Hall and his family have just moved from Florida to Massachusetts, near Boston. Cecil is anxious about making friends because he doesn't know where he'll fit in. His older sister, Leah, thinks he should befriend the other Black kids at his new school, but Cecil isn't sure how he’d go about doing that. He wants to be known for his comics-making talent, anyway. But the few kids who are impressed by Cecil's art aren’t always nice to him. When one of his drawings is misused and gets him into serious trouble, can Cecil stand up for himself and figure out who his real friends are?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Fiction, Comics, Childrens

266 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh...I don't know. I have conflicted feelings about this one. On one hand, I think that conversations surrounding self-actualization in the Black community are important especially when it so readily impacts youth. I, myself, had that experience in school and have been called an oreo a time or two; however, I don't feel like Timid always provides the nuance needed to have those conversations. There were some questionable lines and a lack of effort on Cecil's part at times. Nevertheless, I do think that Todd did a great job illustrating what it's like to be the new kid at school especially as a shy individual. I appreciated the passion for the arts and more specifically comics. Too many kids are forced into believing that art isn't a real career. Overall, this was a solid read, but it isn't one of my favorites of the year.

[Christine Lucia Asha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A budding cartoonist faces many obstacles to his life's dream: his father's wishes for him, his new schcool, his shyness with making friends and standing up for himself.

Being black also makes our hero a little hesitant to speak up but he does and gets what he wants: true friends and allies and a budding comic drawing career.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really couldn’t get past the fact that this 12 year old looked more like a middle aged man but other than that it was a pretty good story that explored experiences of a boy in middle school wanting to pursue his dreams of being a cartoonist when others advise against it. It also shows how he navigates friendships and a new school while being Black.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timid Cecil Hall has to navigate a new middle school after his family moves from Florida to Massachusetts. Being one of the few kids in the lunchroom who is Black and says grace adds some interesting new dimensions to an otherwise fairly typical shy kid arc.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A MG graphic novel for anyone who felt like they didn’t fit in.
☺️
Meet Cecil. He and his family just moved from Florida to the Boston area and he has zero friends there. He’s having to start all over and for someone that is more on the shy side, this is difficult for Cecil. He spends his time focused on his art and comics, hoping to make friends at his new school.
☺️
This book will resonate with many students and
I plan on handing it to my new kids who like graphic novels as a way to welcome them to our campus. This novel by @jonathanjtodd will release April 2 from @graphixbooks

CW: microaggressions, racism

I did not like the art and there was a lot about God and praying, which some kids will connect with and others not as much.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

We need more books like this about sweet boys who are too shy to talk to the girls they have crushes on, are unsure about how to make friends, and have trouble standing up for themselves sometimes. Timid shows kids how they can use their strengths (like art for Cecil) to put themselves out there more and meet people. It was deeply relatable and I hope that this book helps some kids who see themselves in Cecil. It was also refreshing to see a book about a kid who sees church as a positive influence in his life. He makes a friend when she sees him praying before eating his lunch - which was the norm at his previous private school in Florida but not so much at public school in his new suburb outside of Boston. He meets a pretty girl he wants to talk to at his new church who happens to also go to his school. He is Christian and accepting of friends and others who may not believe the same things as him.

Cecil is very observant and loves learning new things about people. These experiences are how he finds out that some people would make great friends and others not so positive. He also finds himself daydreaming in class frequently. His older sister, who is away at college, is realistically supportive and pushes her brother to try new things and look at things in ways he hadn't previously considered.

Todd's artwork is reminiscent of classic newspaper cartoon styles like Curtis, One Big Happy, and Peanuts and is very expressive and bold. I would love to see more books from him. This is a must purchase for all libraries serving tweens. Give this to your kids who love books like New Kid (balancing being the new kid at school with also trying to figure out where you fit as one of the few Black kids there) and First Time for Everything (set in the past, a shy kid putting themselves out there, opening themselves up to new experiences).

Thank you to Edelweiss and Scholastic for letting me read this book early in exchange for an honest review!

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was ugly and there was little substance for a story. I basically skimmed through it and missed nothing, he was worried about being called an “Oreo” but that was it. No extending thoughts on it. Very bland main character.

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Representation: Black and Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Racism, bullying, physical assault and injury in the past mentioned, sexual harassment
Score: Five out of ten.

Timid by Jonathan Todd was disappointing.

It starts with Cecil Hall, and other than him moving to Boston and adjusting to his new life while he draws, there is little plot to Todd’s creation. I enjoyed some parts of Timid but not others.

The art was rough, especially Cecil's character design, who looks more like a man aged 30 than a boy aged 12. There's only one full-colour palette that lacks innovation, and the book could have benefitted from a single-colour palette. Cecil's family encourage him to make friends with Black people only, else people would label him an Oreo, meaning Black on the outside but white on the inside. No one in his family wants him to befriend white people, even though his school is a PWI, or predominantly white institution.

Cecil ignores that advice and befriends white people who don't have the best intentions. The pacing, at 260 pages, feels slow with many side plots, but removing those could help. Ruth touches his hair in one scene, which is mostly irrelevant.

Cecil, Ruth and other characters felt lacking in character development and depth, with the first two only getting some. Cecil learns to stand up for himself whereas Ruth is more careful with her actions. Making character development stronger, adding new character dynamics and removing side characters could improve Timid.

There was only one Asian character but there wasn't a character dynamic involving her because there were only ones involving Black and white people and not others. The conclusion is okay.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ Not super into comics but wanted to feel like a kid again! Enjoyed the art and the plot was good.

[Eliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Timid
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ .5 (2.5/5) or 5.28/10 overall

Characters - 5

Atmosphere - 6

Writing - 5

Plot - 5

Intrigue - 6

Logic - 5

Enjoyment - 5

[sparkypink · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm torn on how to review this graphic novel. I had to re-read the first few pages several times as it felt like there were too many transitions without warning. That aspect did improve throughout the book. The art was consistent, but it took me a while to realize which character was the main character as he was drawn looking like a middle-aged man. The overall story idea was good, but in execution, it was just meh.

[HaileyAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate what this book is trying to do. It's a good story about being the new kid and struggling to find your place, especially as a shy kid. But meh? I didn't really like the illustration style and the story just fell a bit flat for me.

[Rummanah (Books in the Spotlight) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This debut graphic novel reminded me a lot of Jerry Craft’s “New Kid” as it shares similar themes such as adjusting to a new school and finding people who understand you. Timid hints at discussion of masculinity and of racism but it just skims the surface and doesn’t offer any nuance as I had hoped.

[Susan McGilvray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not enough story there for me

[vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was nice enough, but it fits my belief that most realistic graphic novels for kids don’t leave a lasting impact like they did in the mid 2010s to 2020. It’s just harder to find a gem. The story is relatable and soft. Many realistic graphic novels are about kids who like to draw and are shy, trying to fit in school. The conversations and issues Cecil dealt with were understandable and still feel relevant today considering the story is set in the ‘80s. The art is in a style that reminded me of a newspaper cartoon.

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heartfelt graphic novel that follows its protagonist on a journey of adolescence and self-discovery. I enjoyed Cecil's character arc in which he navigates identity, belonging, school, friendships and more while pursuing his passions and learning to stand up for himself.

The art style, vivid colours and bold strokes made this an even more pleasant read. Cecil's very animated expressions were very funny at times. The ending was satisfying and I'm glad to have known Cecil/the author!

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little book that I would like to see again. Hopefully the author will continue with Cecil and his life at Webber. I enjoyed his sister Leah and her references to New Edition and enjoying coffee for what it really is.

[Heather Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was okay. I was excited to see that Cecil learned to stand up for himself to e everyone. He made new friends at his new school and went after his dream of becoming a cartoonist.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the character of Cecil. I’ll be looking for more of Mr. Todd’s books.

[Heidi Goehmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this low key and thoughtful middle grade graphic novel. It is developmentally appropriate in a way we don’t always see, addressing challenges like friendships, parental expectations, fitting in, crushes, etc without excessive drama. Endearing and insightful without being heavy, there’s a unique space for this graphic novel within the genre. I appreciate that there a room for variety. I’ll be sharing this one with some of my therapy clients prepping for the change to middle school.

[Bridget Nygren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a random graphic novel to read, and I found this one. It was pretty interesting! I’m going to give it four stars. Not five because I didn’t really like the art style.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I resonated with Cecil’s feelings of being out of place and not fitting in I struggled with his voice and the illustration style, and ended up not connecting as fully as I had hoped to.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. For whatever reason, this book has almost no staying power with me. I finished it a few days ago and my memories are already hazy. This book is about a young boy who goes to a new school and he's black and the school is predominately white. He tries to find his place and his friend group, but he's very timid. He loves drawing comics and he gets taken advantage of by a mean kid using his art. However, he eventually finds his place. This is somewhat autobiographical for the author, but he did not find his place. I was sad to hear that but overall enjoyed reading this well enough.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A relatable and warm hearted story.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry, but don't waste your time on this book. It's one of the worst books I've ever read. How did it get published? I realize the author put a lot of work into it but there's no story here, really. The illustrations are just okay. I'm just baffled.

[Meredith Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come on No Flying No Tights.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very much a fish out of water sort of story. Cecil has been living in Florida, but his family relocates to Boston, where, of course, he doesn’t know anyone, and all the black kids segregate themselves. His sister warns him not to be an Oreo, but he finds that the only people he is hanging with are white.

Then there is his father, who wants him to be an architect, and what he really wants to do is draw cartoons. He loves to draw comic books, and caricatures, and all things that have to do with telling a story.

And he keeps wanting to talk to the other black kids, but doens’t know how to approach them.
The author based some of what happened in this story on his own experience of moving to Boston, and noticing that all the Black kids kept to themselves, something that was totally different from what he was used to. And he said, of course, he too wrote comic books, like Cecil did.

You have great sympathy for Cecil. Who hasn’t been in a new place and had to make friends. What makes Cecil finally reach out to the other black kids was when two of his “friends” do things to hurt him. One, pats him on the head as though he were a dog, and the other steals his cartoons, and presents them as their own.

Good story. Very relatable. It is hard to stand up for yourself, but you feel better when you do.
Thanks to the publisher for making this book available for an honest review. This book will be published on the 2nd of April 2024.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 This one is a quasi-graphic memoir based loosely on the author’s life. And it did seem authentic as the plot revolves basically around Cecil finding his place in his new school, as well as as his own person on his own terms, other than how others say he should be or feel. The art is colorful and bold if unrefined.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up to 3. Just kinda meh. The art is cute.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in a couple days. Good storyline. I liked how much of it was told in thought bubbles.