Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney,
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Little, Brown & Co., 2007

Ages 12 +

Precocious Arnold Spirit, a.k.a. Junior, is a misfit. Born with encephalitis, his head is freakishly big. Prone to seizures, he also stutters and lisps. He is a favorite target of bullies on the Spokane Indian reservation where he lives. The only thing Junior has in common with other kids on the "rez," is that his family is dirt poor and his father is an alcoholic.

In spite of everything, Junior counts his blessings. His father is a kind drunk, not abusive like his best friend Rowdy's dad, and he has a loving family. Junior is also an adept cartoonist who vents his emotions onto paper. His expressive cartoons, peppered throughout the book, were in fact rendered by artist Ellen Forney, but you'd never know they weren't the drawings of a teenage boy.

On the advice of a teacher, Junior transfers to Reardon high school, 22 miles from home. The only thing Indian at Reardon is the school's mascot. On the rez he becomes more of an outcast than ever, since even Rowdy now sees him as a traitor  Eventually though, Junior makes friends at Reardon. He even starts to gain some elusive hope in spite of a series of tragic events at home.

Junior's inner conflict about being a "part-time Indian" comes to a head at a basketball game between Reardon and the reservation school. Largely thanks to Junior's efforts, Reardon is victorious, but it's a bittersweet victory. As Junior gazes at the defeated, scrappy rez team he remembers that many of them probably hadn't had breakfast that morning and that most of them would never know a better life.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is Sherman Alexie's first book for young adults, but he’s got it just right. This book is a page-turner, at once sad and funny, tragic and hopeful. Junior is an utterly lovable hero you will root for all the way to the end. The dialogue in the book - especially between Junior and Rowdy and his nerdy friend Gordy - is sometimes crude, but always spot on and entirely believable.

In this autobiographical tale, Alexie makes the case that a kid who faces both poverty and prejudice is going to have some serious obstacles to overcome. His story also suggests that you don't have to stop caring about other people, nor give up being who you are, to see new possibilities for yourself.

Jeannine Stronach
January 2008