Alexie, Sherman. 2007. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. Art By Ellen Forney. New York: Little Brown And Company. ISBN 9780316013680
2. Plot Summary
Junior is a teenager that was born with a bunch of health issues. He is growing up on the Spokane Reservations with his parents and older sister. He only has one friend named Rowdy who is angry and a bully. It is time to start high school. In geometry class the teacher tells the students to turn to page one. Junior opens his book and sees on the inside cover that it says the book belonged to Agnes Adams. "Who is Agnes Adams? Well let me tell you. Agnes Adams is my mother. I staring at a geometry book that was at least thirty years older than I was" (31). In anger he hurtles the book across the room and hits his teacher in the nose. Junior is suspended from school. His teachers visits him at home and gives him some advice. "You have to leave this reservation. All these kids have given up. You're going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk from this sad, sad, sad reservation" (43). Junior decides to attend a school of the reservation to look for hope.
3. Critical Analysis
The story is set on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington and a small farm town outside of the reservation. The setting shapes the characters into Native Americans and Caucasians. The story is told from the perspective of the main character who is a teenage Native America who has lived on the reservation his whole life. The author tells this story with hope, humor, and love. "And I started wearing glasses when I was three, so I ran around the rez looking like a three-year-old Indian grandpa" (3). The plot is self vs. society. Junior is trying to find a future for his life by going to a better school. He wants to break the mold of who is supposed to be. "I mean, they've always known that I was weird and ambitious, so maybe they expect me to do the weirdest things possible" (46). The main character can be related to by teenagers no matter what ethnicity they are. This is the story of a teen dealing with the struggles of growing up and how society influences them. It helps set the theme of growing up can be painful. The theme of the story is shown by the author through the characters actions. "You will be the first one to ever leave the rez this way" (47).
The main character is a cartoonist. Throughout the story the reader sees his illustrations of the characters in the story and different events that happen. The drawing are in black and white. Sometimes they are cartoons and other times they are more realistic. The illustrations give the reader a view into the main characters life to convey how he sees the people in the story. They also had a dash of humor to the book.
This is a wonderful story about growing up that teens and adults can relate to. Life can be tough and this story gives us all hope. "I always knew you were going to leave. And I was happy for you" (229).
4. Review Excerpts
Booklist: "When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one. He weathers the typical teenage indignation's and triumphs like a champ but soon faces far more trying ordeals as his home life begins to crumble and decay amidst the suffocating mire of alcoholism on the reservation. Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience, and he doesn't pull many punches as he levels his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt. A few of the plot lines fade to gray by the end, but this ultimately affirms the incredible power of best friends to hurt and heal in equal measure. Younger teens looking for the strength to lift themselves out of rough situations would do well to start here."
School Library Journal: "The many characters, on and off the rez, with whom he has dealings are portrayed with compassion and verve, particularly the adults in his extended family. Forney's simple pencil cartoons fit perfectly within the story and reflect the burgeoning artist within Junior. Reluctant readers can even skim the pictures and construct their own story based exclusively on Forney's illustrations. The teens determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty, despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a positive message in a low-key manner. Alexie's tale of self-discovery is a first purchase for all libraries."
National Book Award Winner
5. Connections
A good book for reading about teenagers growing up.
Other books about growing up:
Anderson, Laurie Halse. SPEAK. ISBN 9780142414736
Hesse, Karen. OUT OF THE DUST. ISBN 978059371254
Yang, Gene Luen. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. ISBN 9780312384487
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