Sherman Alexie

Ok, so that campaign -- we need diverse books -- this is what they are talking about. A book that is about being a kid, any kid, with a kid-centered problem. Beautifully presented as both a universal I- want- to- be- different- from- my- parents story and simultaneously as a native american story, this one is charming, funny, and very celebratory about being who you are. Also? The art is excellent. I particularly love the companion animals and the little sister story that's going on in the show more background. They don't steal the show, but, wordlessly, they add family context that's very important, and extra appealing. show less

Sherman Alexi’s 1996 novel, Indian Killer, is a first rate serial killer novel that is almost certain to intrigue any fan of that crime fiction subgenre. But it is so much more than that.

First, the book’s title is, at first glance, a little misleading. From its title, most readers would assume that Sherman Alexi has written a book about someone who is choosing Native Americans as his crime spree victims (as in the sense that Custer was an “Indian killer”), but exactly the opposite show more is true here. Instead, this is a story about a Native American, an Indian-killer, who is terrifying Seattle by randomly murdering and scalping his white victims.

Second, author Sherman Alexi is himself a Native American who grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. Alexi’s insight into what could motivate a main character such as this particular one to become the coldblooded killer he turns out to be makes the story all the more terrifying because it is all so logically crazy (if logical craziness is even possible).

Third, using primarily his secondary characters, Alexi shares a frank look with his readers about how many, if not most, Native Americans still feel today about what happened to their ancestors and the people responsible for the genocide they all too often suffered over the centuries. What Alexi’s characters have to say about all the Indian “wannabes” out there, those people who want so desperately to claim that they carry Indian blood for reasons of their own, is particularly damning. It is reminiscent, although it predates it by more than two decades, of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s embarrassing exposure as a shameless fraud who claimed to be a Native American entirely for her own personal gain.

So, there is already a lot packed into Indian Killer that readers will want to consider. And that’s even before the realization that an Indian is stalking white men sparks an all-out race war in Seattle. As the search for the killer goes on and on, tensions are high on both sides. Seattle’s Native Americans are nervous about leaving the reservation, and those who live in and around the city are mostly keeping their heads down. White hotheads, possibly as much to disguise their own nervousness and fear as much as anything else, are starting to mouth-off at any Indians they see on the streets. Seattle’s homeless Indian population is in particular danger from the nasty retaliation that occurs after each white victim is discovered.

Throw into the mix a novelist who badly wants people to believe his claim that he is an Indian; a bigoted radio talk show host who keeps his listeners on the verge of anti-Indian violence at all times; and a young Indian college student who leads campus protests about the bigotry she believes is directed at Indian students like her, and the city is sitting on a powder keg.

Bottom Line: Indian Killer is a memorable novel that only a Native American would have had the real credibility to write. There is almost as much in between the lines of this one as there is in the plot itself. It is a well written, fast-paced thriller with a message, a book that I recommend for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. show less

I first read this book 10ish years ago, before I was reviewing every book I read. I remembered it as an incredibly book about a kid living on a reservation,figuring who who is.

What I didn't remember is just how amazing this book is. Junior/Arnold needs to leave the reservation if he is going to survive. His best friend, Rowdy, at age 14, has already given up on life. His older sister graduated, than spent the next 7 year not doing anything. His folks love him dearly, but are stuck in cycle show more of drinking. Even the teachers at his reservation school have given up on life. When Junior throws his 30 year geometry book at his teacher, a conversation changes his whole life.

Where this book is amazing, it captures the casual racism of Arnold's life, without casting judgement on anyone. From the small town bigotry of small town white America - to the rampant alcoholism fueled reservation life. Its a rare author who can create understanding on both sides of a painful divide without pulling any punches. show less

Thunder Boy Smith hates his name. According to him, it's not a "normal" name. And what's more, it's also his father's name. And while he loves his father, he doesn't want to share a name with him. Thunder Boy dreams up getting a new name that will reflect him better, but he doesn't know how to tell his dad this...

I stumbled upon this delightful children's book in my library and loved it. It's a fun way of looking at what can be a serious complaint for some kids -- many of us could probably show more relate to sometimes wishing we had a different name. This is arguably compounded more so for those who are named after a parent. (After reading this book, I also ended up reading Alexie's recent memoir in which he discusses how he did not like being a named after his father and being referred to as "Junior" for his entire childhood.) When I read this book aloud with my niece, we talked about how several people in our family are a junior or a third, and it was interesting for her to be able to make that personal connection to the book we were reading. This book could be paired nicely with Kevin Henkes's Chrysanthemum for more discussion about names and dealing with a name you don't like.

The illustrations are vibrant and show a lovely relationship between the title character and his father as well as with his younger sister and mother. show less