The absolute true diary of a part-time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolute true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown. 

                Arnold “Junior” Spirit, Jr. is a fourteen year old Native American who lives on the Spokane Reservation.  He is wanting to make a difference in his education because he wants to be a cartoonist. Junior sees on the reservation that alcohol is more important to most of the people on the reservation.  Under the guidance of his teacher, Junior decides to transfer to Reardan High School, which is an affluent white school that is twenty-two miles away.  While at Reardan, Junior faces a world that he is not familiar with.  The only other Indian in town is the school’s mascot.  He is challenged academically but he is treated as an outcast not only by everyone on the reservation but also at Reardan.  Then he decides to try to fit in and tries out for the Reardan basketball team.  Surprisingly, he makes the team but it is the varsity team as a starting player.  While Junior was away, he suffered some devastating losses.  First, his grandmother is killed by a drunken Indian, then his dad’s best friend is shot in the face in a fight over a wine bottle and then his beloved sister dies in a fire after passing out.  It seems that everything on the reservation is about “booze and God”.  Even with all the sadness and heart ache, Junior never loses his hope.  Overall, this story is about hope, joy, determination and that with faith anyone can overcome their situation and improve their situation.
               In Alexie’s autobiographical story about his experiences growing up on a reservation deals with the poverty and racial prejudice.  He is faced with prejudice on the reservation as well as at his all white school.  Overall, this is novel would be great for middle schoolers and on up.  The differences of the people that Junior met and dealt with demonstrate that even with differences everything can be tolerated and overcame.