The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. NY: Little Brown
This book written by Sherman Alexie is about an Indian boy named Arnold Spirit Jr. that lives on the Reservation, or as he calls it "The Rez". Junior was born with too much spinal fluid inside his skull. This caused many issues with Junior such as problems with his vision, his speech, and his physical appearance. This made Junior the target of teasing and bullying through much of his childhood. One way Junior dealt with it was to draw cartoons. One day in class when he started high school he noticed that his geometry book was so old, it had his mother's name inside it! This upset Junior and when his teacher told him he had potential and should transfer schools, he agreed and asked his parents. They allowed him to transfer to another school, Reardan, which was one of the best small schools in the state. It also happened to be predominantly white.
Transferring schools was good for Junior in the long run, but it was a difficult transition for him. In the process, he loses his best friend Rowdy and the support of his people back on the Rez. He also deals with the fear that the kids at Reardan might find out how poor he is. He is able to pretend for a while that he is just a "normal" kid at Reardan; he joins the basketball team and even develops a crush on a girl named Penelope. But every evening, he goes back to the Rez where his people are not supportive of his decision to "leave the Rez".
The book continues with Junior dealing with feeling like a part-time Indian. One of the cartoon drawings in the book does a great job of illustrating this feeling to the readers. He drew a picture of himself, split in half. One side was labeled "White" and the other was labeled "Indian" with words and phrases on each side illustrating how he felt about each side. On the white side, he added things like "hope" and "a bright future". On the Indian side, he included things like "bone-crushing reality" and "a vanishing past". Junior experiences many tragedies throughout the book including deaths in and close to the family. But he perseveres and eventually realizes he has true friends at Reardan and also gains back the support of his people and his best friend Rowdy.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a must-read! The writing tackles tough issues like racism, alcoholism, bullying, and violence but adds humor to make it bearable. The descriptions and illustrations included make Junior's trials and tribulations feel real to the reader. I, personally, can relate to some of the racism that Junior had to deal with. Growing up, I lived in a small town that was predominantly white. I dealt with the teasing and name-calling because I am brown. I learned to deal with it in my own ways, which sometimes included fighting, just like Junior. Then when I was a junior in high school, my family moved to another town that was predominantly black and Hispanic. Things did not get any better for me there because I did not speak Spanish, so I was accused of thinking I was better than the other Hispanics. Just like Junior was called an "apple" I was called a "coconut" by classmates and teased for not being "brown enough". But, just like Junior, I persevered, and look at me now! This is a book that I will definitely recommend to young adult readers.
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