The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Bibliography: Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

ISBN: 978-0316013697

Genre: realistic fiction

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+/14+

Plot Summary:  Junior is not a typical reservation kid. For one thing, geometry makes him hormonal.¹  For another, he wants more than life on the reservation can give him. After accidentally reaming a teacher with a book, Junior decides it’s time to transfer to schools. Twenty odd miles away, but off reservation land, is Reardon, home of rich kids, new books and funded school programs. It sounds ideal, but proves to be a nightmare on both fronts: Reardon school kids mock him because he’s an Indian; his old friends mock him because he’s abandoned them. Junior feels a level of isolation like he’s never felt before. A racist comment from a Reardon bully breaks his calm and he punches him--hard. Much to his surprise, that punch earned him respect and acceptance as a Reardon student. He joins the basketball team. He’s got a crush. He’s got respect. He’s got pretty good grades. But he doesn’t have his best friend, Rowdy, or the support of his tribe. When the two school teams and ultimately, Junior and Rowdy, have to square off against each other, Junior will discover just how precarious is the balance of his two worlds.

Critical Evaluation: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is one of the best written young adult books I’ve read. Author Sherman Alexie is a master of imagery, giving Junior the ability to be honest and quirky and original with his points of view. On the very first page, he starts us out with a very visual definition of hydrocephalus, likening the spinal fluid (or “brain grease”) to the way “car grease works… inside an engine”. (1) By providing a very clear idea of what this condition is, Sherman creates reader comprehension; by providing reader comprehension, Sherman creates a bond between reader and protagonist. Another shining example of imagery is shared with the reader just a couple pages later, as Junior describes his extreme skinniness and extra-large feet. “I looked like a capital L walking down the road” (3). There’s not a reader among us who wouldn’t immediately know Junior on the street because we know, in just a few words, exactly what he looks like. Junior’s peers on the reservation, in calling him an “apple”, also comment on what he looks like--and who he is inside (131). An apple has red skin (old Native American stereotype), but is white on the inside (their assumption of Junior since he chose to go off the reservation for school.) Author Alexie also has an electric ability with metaphor, using it to provide humor and/or diffuse difficult situations. After Junior is beaten up by three adult bullies, he writes that if they had “punched a hole in the aquarium of my skull, I might have flooded out the entire powwow” (21). While that is a prime example of using metaphor (as well as imagery) to diffuse a very serious situation, Junior later writes of a conversation with a classmate, Gordy, about reading really great books. Gordy says, “You should approach each each--you should approach life--with the real possibility that you might get a metaphorical boner at any point” (97). Such a perfect way to convey the message to the reader!

Reader’s Annotation: Arnold, aka Junior discovered early on that stuttering and thick glasses are not tools for popularity, so he spends his time hiding from almost everyone. But when he decides that it’s time to make a change, he becomes the center of a lot of bad attention. He develops some chutzpah, though, and sets out to annihilate the prejudices that hold him back.

Author Information: Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane, WA. Alexie has published 18 books to date.

Alexie is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Sherman's best known works include The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Smoke Signals, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. He lives in Seattle, Washington.¹

Curriculum ties: racial integration; current Native American issues

Booktalks: Would you rather go to a school where you’re comfortable or a school that has more advantages?

Challenge issues: racism; bullying; violence; death; language

Challenge Issue Resources:

• Library Selection Policy
• Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
• Active listening skills
• Awards
• Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
• Illinois Library Association (Banned Books Listings)
• National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
• Positive and negative reviews: expert, parent, student
• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
• Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Reasoning: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a great read for reluctant readers. It includes illustrations, short chapters, lists and plenty of white space on the pages. The storyline provides an insight into the unique dynamics of a Native American tribe and provides the impetus to reach past skin color to get to know the true person. It embodies diversification, education and empathy.

References:

¹Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian (p. 25). New York: Little, Brown.

²Sherman Alexie. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4174.Sherman_Alexie?from_search=true&search_version=service