The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York, NY: Little Brown.

Junior is a fourteen year-old  Indian that lives on an Indian Reservation in Spokane, Washington.  Junior has health problems, a large head, wears glasses, and is picked on by other kids often on the Reservation.   His parents are poor, most Indians on the reservation are alcoholics, and there are little opportunities on the reservation as well.  But Junior is smart, is a budding cartoonist, and wants to have a better life for himself, so he decides to go to a different high school than the reservation high school.  Junior wants to go to the all-white high school, Reardan, with a computer lab and current textbooks.  He knows he will never escape a life of poverty if he doesn't leave the reservation.  Junior's parents are supportive, but Junior's best friends Rowdy is angry with him and won't talk to him anymore.  Everyone on the reservation thinks of him as a traitor.  The story continues with his life at Reardan, the changes he goes through as he makes friends with white kids, and playing basketball against his old school and winning.  He knows that the white kids have advantages the Indians will never have, from food and nutrition, health care, and basic resources.   Throughout the year, his grandmother dies, his sister, and his Dad's best friend, who Junior looks up to.  All of these life changing events shape him into knowing he made the right decision to leave the reservation school to make something out of his life.  At the end, Rowdy and Junior reconcile and come to terms that they will always be friends, no matter where Junior's life takes him.   

Sherman Alexie is an American writer that grew up on a Spokane Indian Reservation.  His books focus on what life is like for modern day Indians, their problems, and struggles.   But his books also touch and speak to all people, regardless of race or religion.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian could help to teach the discrepancies between schools on reservations and schools in more affluent communities.   It could also teach what life is like on reservations, what opportunities exist for their children and community members,  compared to other places in the country.  

Connections for young adults:  This book has a protagonist that experiences many life changing events such as changing schools, losing a best friend, trying to fit into a new school, losing a loved one, and poverty.  It also deals with identity and body image from a young man's point of view.