Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Author: Sherman Alexie
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Publication Date: January 10, 2012

Format: eBook
Price: $9.99
Page Count: 272
ISBN-13: 9780316219303

Reading Level: Grades 7 and up (ages 12+)
Lexile: 600
Interest Level: Grades 9 and up (ages 14+)

Annotation: Wanting to be something more, Junior leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school.

Plot and Content Summary: Arnold (known as "Junior") was born with birth defects and has always been bullied because of this. After he sees his mom's name in his 30-year-old school textbook, he is done staying in a place that is so poor. Junior decides then to leave his life on the Spokane Indian Reservation and go to an all-white high school. Of course, his issues still follow him.

Evaluation: The thing that stood out the most to me in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was Junior's personality. Because the book was written in such a laid-back style, we were able to get a lot of his unfiltered thoughts—this was very entertaining and, sometimes, it even made me laugh out loud. Still, Junior faced a lot of challenges as an Indian and as someone who has brain damage. It was heartbreaking to watch him experience bullying, poverty, and loss of family and friends, but even more so to know that this could be any person in the real world. Alexie uses humor to tackle these tough issues, which I think makes readers enjoy this a lot. It is comforting to laugh in the midst of sorrow.

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness: Alexie wrote The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian based on his life experiences, which I assume is relatable to many Indian teens. This book not only serves as something for them to see themselves in, but for others as well. It shines a light on how uncontrollable certain circumstances are, but Junior's positivity may bring some people hope.

Issues Present: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was challenged for containing "shocking words of profanity, sexual innuendo and violence" (Gomez, 2018), but everything said in this book is nothing short of what is said in every high school. Teens are already exposed to these things and it does not encourage teens to participate. In terms of the violence, much of it relates to the bullying that Junior faces. This is something that happens to a lot of teens in school, and perhaps seeing it from this perspective will spark empathy.

Book Talk Ideas:
  • How does Junior feel about his birth defects and being Indian? Do these things that identify him affect the way he views life?
  • The cartoons in this book are important to Junior—how does this add to the novel?
  • Why does Junior leave the reservation? Do you think what happens to him at his new school is realistic?

Genre/Subgenres: Coming-of-age stories; Realistic fiction

Readalikes: The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong by L. Tam Holland; Winger by Andrew Smith; Matthew Meets The Man by Travis Nichols; If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric L. Gansworth

References
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