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From the National Book Awardâ??winning author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the tale of a troubled boy's trip through history. Half Native American and half Irish, fifteen-year-old "Zits" has spent much of his short life alternately abused and ignored as an orphan and ward of the foster care system. Ever since his mother died, he's felt alienated from everyone, but, thanks to the alcoholic father whom he's never met, especially disconnected from other Indians.
After he runs away from his latest foster home, he makes a new friend. Handsome, charismatic, and eloquent, Justice soon persuades Zits to unleash his pain and anger on the uncaring world. But picking up a gun leads Zits on an unexpected time-traveling journey through several violent moments in American history, experiencing life as an FBI agent during the civil rights movement, a mute Indian boy during the Battle of Little Bighorn, a nineteenth-century Indian tracker, and a modern-day airplane pilot. When Zits finally returns to his own body, "he begins to understand what it means to be the hero, the villain and the victim. . . . Mr. Alexie succeeds yet again with his ability to pierce to the heart of matters, leaving this reader with tears in her eyes" (The New York Times Book Review).
Sherman Alexie's acclaimed novels have turned a spotlight on the unique experiences of modern-day Native Americans, and here, the New York Timesâ??bestselling author of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian takes a bold new turn, combining magical realism with his singular humor and insight.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Sherman Alexie including rare photos from the author's personal collection. … (more)
BookshelfMonstrosity: If you like Pacific Northwest literature, like 'The highest tide', you may also enjoy 'Flight', which shares these qualities and is also about teenage boys.
Sherman Alexi sure can write. This is the fourth book of his that I've read and, like the other three, it made me feel all the emotions. It's an easy read, but will stay with you long after you've finished. The only thing that prevents me from giving this book five stars is the amount of cop love. ( )
I hate Sherman Alexie. I started reading this book to my son*. I mean, what could go wrong? I liked other books of his. It had good reviews, was about a teen boy. But somewhere in the first chapter I had to stop, I was embarrassed to be reading it, I had to constantly substitute better word choices. And I remembered talking my mother into going to see Alexie talk at UW-SP: a great writer and we have a chance to hear him in person! I was so embarrassed. I think he was drunk or wired, or maybe his life was falling apart but he had to go thru with his contract to speak. He used all kinds of 4-letter words and spent most of the time talking about sex. Maybe he thought that's what college students wanted to hear. Then I finally had an evening when I didn't have to be a parent, so what else would I do but finish reading the book. And it tore my heart open. This strong, tough, half-breed kid named Zits is learning that fighting back is no answer, that we are all one blood under the skin, that love is painful and we'll likely get hurt, that really there is no other choice if we want to live.
*my son is 38, blind, has autism and not the high-functioning kind, loves to hear stories, and probably understands much more than people think he does. I want him to learn about the world beyond his reach, but I don't really want him to learn about the ugliness. ( )
Three pages in, I was prepared not to like this book. It had all the indications of being a Catcher In The Rye-type novel, and I have no great love for that book. I stuck with it, however, and soon I realized that Alexie had a far different story to tell that was much larger than the angst of his teenage protagonist, Zits. He keeps it edgy without being obnoxious, and the questions that the book invokes are never fully answered but you realize at the end that it matters not. Here is an author that understands that violence is perhaps a universal potential that we conveniently put in racial and ethnic boxes when it suits us to think better of ourselves. Fantastic book! ( )
Fifteen year-old Zits has been placed in twenty-one foster homes since he was six, when his mother died. The string of foster parents has ranged from indifferent to abusive, and an assault on his latest foster mother lands Zits in a cell, where he meets an older boy named Justice. For the first time in years Zits has a friend, someone who cares for him and looks out for him, though the reader knows to be wary of Justice. This manipulative friend leads Zits to a strange series of awakenings that explore Native American and White relations in American history. A thought-provoking book that addresses race and the foster care system, while also switching the main character back and forth from victim to victimizer. ( )
Zits becomes Michael. It was very clever when armed and trained by Justice, Zits goes into the bank and a man says to him, "You aren't real" or something to that effect. He then walks in the shoes several different people, including his father. Then he is back in himself. Back at the bank. He is not going to shoot these people. Yes, his life has been unfair but he doesn't have to take it out on everyone else around him. He grows up. He gets fostered by people who want him and Zits becomes Michael. I always hoped that somewhere along the way that Michael goes to Tachoma and finds his Dad. ( )
I'm happy. I'm scared, too. I mean, I mean, I know the world is still a cold and cruel place. I know that people will always go to war against each other. I know that children will always be targets. I know that people will always betray each other. I know that I am a betrayer. But I'm beginning to think I might get unlonely. I'm beginning to think I might have an almost real family. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I keep saying. "It's okay," she says. "You'll be okay." "Michael," I say. "My real name is Michael. Please, call me Michael."
From the National Book Awardâ??winning author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, the tale of a troubled boy's trip through history. Half Native American and half Irish, fifteen-year-old "Zits" has spent much of his short life alternately abused and ignored as an orphan and ward of the foster care system. Ever since his mother died, he's felt alienated from everyone, but, thanks to the alcoholic father whom he's never met, especially disconnected from other Indians.
After he runs away from his latest foster home, he makes a new friend. Handsome, charismatic, and eloquent, Justice soon persuades Zits to unleash his pain and anger on the uncaring world. But picking up a gun leads Zits on an unexpected time-traveling journey through several violent moments in American history, experiencing life as an FBI agent during the civil rights movement, a mute Indian boy during the Battle of Little Bighorn, a nineteenth-century Indian tracker, and a modern-day airplane pilot. When Zits finally returns to his own body, "he begins to understand what it means to be the hero, the villain and the victim. . . . Mr. Alexie succeeds yet again with his ability to pierce to the heart of matters, leaving this reader with tears in her eyes" (The New York Times Book Review).
Sherman Alexie's acclaimed novels have turned a spotlight on the unique experiences of modern-day Native Americans, and here, the New York Timesâ??bestselling author of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian takes a bold new turn, combining magical realism with his singular humor and insight.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Sherman Alexie including rare photos from the author's personal collection.
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