The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. NY: Little Brown. 

Summary: Junior is a poor Indian boy who has grown up on the Indian Reservation, or Rez, as somewhat of an outcast. He is not the typical aggressive, outlandish, carefree Indian boy, instead is concerned with his academics, keeps to himself (and best friend Rowdy), and enjoys drawing comics that portray the events in his life. Junior quickly realizes at a young age that the Rez is not a place for him to become successful, for him to accomplish this, he must go to the white dominate school, Rearden, twenty miles away. When he gets there, he receives backlash from people back home as well as skepticism from the students at Rearden. He immediately questions his decision. After many losses and some triumphs throughout the book, Junior finally realizes his place should be at Rearden. He overcomes much heartache with family, friends, and himself but finally realizes the potential and life he is capable of even if he has to overcome more obstacles in the future.

Commentary: Junior continually faces conflict throughout the book. In the beginning when he was on the Rez, he was picked on and bullied for be different than the other Indians. He is drawn to more conflict from his Indian peers when he decides that Rearden is a better fit academically for him. Once attending Rearden, conflict follows him daily as he is thought of as the outsider and struggles to become accepted. In many books, the main character is put into conflicting situations without any effort. This seems to be Junior’s problem in this novel. He is not only conflicting with himself and identity, but with society and where he fits in. I really like the illustrations and drawings in this novel that help the reader visualize how Junior copes with different situations. He draws his expressions through art and lets the reader see the comical side of all his experiences.

Connection: Here is a great book trailer for this book made by 11^th graders who read this book in school. It helps make the story relatable to all students in all types of scenarios and sparks an interest into reading this novel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXCSwsBlWZo