The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (original 2007; edition 2009)

Sherman Alexie tells the truth, is funny, and has a great heart. This book is wonderful from the first page. Anyone who can write about being afflicted with a weird shaped head, and an outsized ambition while cracking wise (sort of like Joey Pigza) has my vote. I loved this book. ( )

teen ( )

Characters: Arnold Jr. Spirit
Setting: Washington State
Theme:
Genre:
Summary: Arnold was born with water on the brain, and lives in poverty, surrounded by alcoholism, on an Indian reservation in Washington state. He begins attending a school off the reservation, and must learn how to deal with stereotypes and racism, adjusting to a different culture, as well as reservation life.
Audience: grades 7 and up
Curriculum ties: Social issues-racism, stereotyping,
Personal response: Captivating read. A beautifully written, humorous, and heartbreaking story. The drawings help bring the story to life, and offer students a break from text. I was reminded of a friend from middle school that also loved to draw and left the reservation to go to school .

Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, is a Spokane Indian from Wellpinit, WA. The bright 14-year-old was born with water on the brain, is regularly the target of bullies, and loves to draw. He says, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." He expects disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school in Reardan, but soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. The daily struggles of reservation life and the tragic deaths of his grandmother, dog, and older sister would be all but unbearable without the humor and resilience of spirit with which Junior faces the world. Junior is forced to face his old friends when his new ‘white’ basketball team plays the rez team.

Fantastic book. Easy to read with lots of cartoons. Very casual, humerous style, but has some hard hitting moments and messages that creep up on you! ( )

When Junior decides to leave his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation and attend a nearby all-white school, he’s met with resistance on both sides. Faced with racism, backlash from his friends and neighbors, and a sense of not really fitting in anywhere, Junior relies on his diary to track his tumultuous year. Full of funny, smart observations and cartoons, Junior’s diary chronicles his freshman year of high school.

This is a book that I should have read a long time ago. I don’t know why it took me as long as it did, but I do know that I wish I had read it when it came out. This is an important book, and no matter how readers feel about Alexie–who can be controversial for a number of reasons–they cannot deny that Alexie has tapped into something very real and very authentic with Part-Time Indian.

It helps that Alexie got his start as a poet before branching out into short stories and fiction. This is his first foray into the young adult genre, and he absolutely nails it. The pairing of cartoons and text is perfectly balanced, and the humor of Junior shines through both. Despite the raw deal that he’s been handed, Junior works hard to change his situation. His fierce love for the Spokane Reservation is clear, but he also acknowledges that he’ll never make it if he doesn’t leave it. This central paradox drives much of the book’s narrative, but it is Junior’s sharp observations about the people in his life that have the most lasting impact.

As Junior struggles to reconcile the fact that he no longer fits in at home and doesn’t fit in at his new white school, either, he also finds that people can still surprise him. This exploration of what it means to straddle two worlds–the Indian world and the white one–isn’t new for Alexie, but I think this might be his best attempt at it.

Seriously, if you haven’t read this: what are you waiting for? Highly, highly recommended. Smart, funny, and important for all readers.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Little, Brown Young Readers: 2007. Purchased copy. ( )