The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie – 230 pages
Book Blurb:
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.
My Review: 4.5 stars
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I revisited this book which I read in 2010 when I heard it was on the banned books lists in some states.
This is an absolute heart wrenching coming of age story for Junior, one of the best male protagonists I’ve read about in some time. Here’s a kid, stuck in an unforgivable Native American reservation wrought with poverty, intolerance, drinking and abuse who has the gumption to try and break free of this cycle. So remind me, why are the idiotic book banners trying to ban this?
This book not only takes us into Junior’s life as he’s caught between two lives, one on the reservation and one in his all white high school, but we learn quite a bit about life on an Indian reservation. This book is one that can make you switch from laughing to crying in a single page turn and best of all, the feeling of hope surpasses all the sadness that’s portrayed. Incredible drawings compliment the story as representative of Junior’s art abilities. I recommend this book to everyone!
Quotes I liked:
Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.”
-“I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That’s right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that’s kind of perverted or maybe it’s just romantic and highly intelligent.”
-“I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning.But when you draw a picture everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, “That’s a flower.”
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