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Jan 09, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

You can credit Junior with this much; he's not a complainer. Not really. I mean, sure he was born with an enormous head, gigantic feet, crazy eyes, ten more teeth than normal, a stutter, and a lisp . . . . but hey, have you ever seen the guy's cartoons? They're great! Junior isn't the most popular kid on his reservation but he does all right. That is, until the day he snaps after finding his mother's maiden name in an old junky geometry book. Oddly, the teacher he lobs the book in the face of is More...

2 comments like (32 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Gavin rated it:

Confession time: I’ve been a bit of a snob when it comes to YA literature. The idea that this type of writing was beneath me, not able to give me what I wanted from a story were my main excuses. I’m not going to say that YA fiction is ever going to replace “literary” adult fiction, but I will say that it has opened my eyes. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN is a magnificent read. The story centers around Junior, a Spokane Indian, and his family who live on a reservation. To b More...

1 comment like (15 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2007

Jess rated it:

Okay, okay, fine, I give in.

I’ll get on the bandwagon.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is, well, made of awesome.

I kinda got on the Sherman Alexie bandwagon, as an undergrad, when all freshmen were required to read his The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven. I liked it. Put it next to Plato’s Republic and it was pretty damn exciting. But I didn’t go out and gobble up all this other books. Plus I’m not the hugest fan of short stories. But More...

7 comments like (38 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2008

Meghan rated it:

I thought for a second I'd only give this four stars but, okay. I was schooled by teachers who were for the most part trying really hard to achieve a multicultural education in Whiteland. It must have been a daunting task, right? But you would run into a teacher here or there who had his or her own Thing, like, I had a history teacher really into critical thought who totally busted out Pearl Harbor conspiracy theories. And it didn't make up my whole education so of course there are portions I ha More...

4 comments like (26 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2008

Glenn rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

9 comments like (14 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2007

Abby rated it:

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I loved Ellen Forney's illustrations, but I felt like the narrative only retrod ground that Sherman Alexie's been down many, many times before. Sure, he's really good at it, but I want something different now. Plus, I was not entirely convinced by the voice of the teen narrator. It felt to me like Alexie was just reworking the voices of previous characters from Reservation Blues -- the nerdy, slightly outcast Spokane Indian who loves books & basketbal More...

10 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Emma rated it:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is the first book written by Sherman Alexie specifically for a young adult audience. I finished it in two days but have been holding onto my copy because I’ve been having a hard time articulating why I might love this book.

If you have read anything by Alexie, you know that he writes about life on the Spokane Indian reservation in Washingotn. In Reservation Blues Alexie described the misadventures of Thomas Builds-the-Fire an More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2010

Caris rated it:

You know when Paula Dean is cooking and she puts in a little butter?

My mother insists that our family's lineage includes a little Native American blood. When we were kids, she talked about Mother Earth and Father Sky. She collects Navajo rugs and decorates bones with turquoise. She's always telling me to do the genealogical research necessary to prove my Native American status and get a scholarship because of it.

Her family is European. They came mostly from Slovakia and G More...

11 comments like (37 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2011

Mollie rated it:

I really don't know how to write a review that will do this book justice. All I know is that I laughed, I cried, then I laughed some more. And this review will be my feeble attempt to convey the genius of Sherman Alexie's writing. While this is my first Alexie book, it most certainly will not be my last.

Junior is a Spokane Indian living on a reservation who takes a huge risk by transferring to the white high school twenty-two miles away from the "rez." This takes a lot of More...

4 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2008

Joseph rated it:

Essential young adult, and adult reading alike. Sherman Alexie has staked his claim as one of the most impressive and talented story tellers of our time with his uncanny ability to weave pure and magical comedy into the harsh realities and difficulties of present-day Native American "Rez" life. His writings are not only extreemly enjoyble, but they are essential and important documents on widely ignored social issues on and off the reservation.

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2009

Angie rated it:

I'm so glad I finally got around to this one. The laughs were much needed. Of course, there were bouts of tears to go along with those laughs, so it probably evened out in the end. But that is the mark of the best kind of story. It made me feel genuine emotion, and not all one kind, so I feel fulfilled and stretched out, rather than left wondering if I'll ever be able to crawl my way up out of the hole.

Junior's life is unenviable. And that is putting it mildly. He lives on the India More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2010

Malbadeen rated it:

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I really like Alexie's short stories, so I guess I should be but still: some people I really respect (hi Sarah, hi Micheal) didn't LOVE it so I expected to be less than impressed.

My opinion could've been swayed by the fact that I listened to it read by him which certainly affected the tone within a few weeks of seeing him in person where he was hilarious and gracious.

Regardless..I thought it was great! I thought Junior was se More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 26, 2008

Sandi rated it:

I got this book for a reading group. I was going to read it and pass it to my almost-13 year old son. Although I thought the book was very well written and had a lot of positive things to say, I decided not to pass it on. I'm not sure at what age I will deem it appropriate for my son.

On the positive side, this book is a story about a 14 year old Indian boy who decides to go off the reservation to attend high school in the neighboring white farming community. It's not easy for h More...

5 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2008

Molly rated it:

Although this latest Sherman Alexie book is written from the first-person perspective of a high-school-aged boy who is a misfit growing up on an Indian (Native American) reservation, I didn't realize that it's a YA novel until about 1/3 of the way through. It doesn't exactly matter that it's a YA novel, except that I think YA novels can get away with more (read: repeated language, dumbed-down ideas) than adult literature can. I found myself giving Alexie the benefit of the doubt when his young p More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2011

Olivia rated it:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian:
Be the First One to Leave
Being stuck on the reservation was killing him. Can Arnold change his life? The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, was set in present time. It was very realistic and the main character, Arnold, was easy to relate to. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. This was a really great book because it is ve More...

9 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2011

MissDziura rated it:

I absolutely LOVED this book! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is written for grades 7-10 but I would definitely recommend it for more mature readers due to the language and some of the content. I started this book on a Saturday and was finished with it by Sunday night...it was a definite "can't put down" novel. Alexie tells a very entertaining story of identity using the thoughts of a real teenager, Junior, including his artistic musings and sometim More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2008

Julia rated it:

"It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it.”

So whines high school student and sometime cartoonist Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, who is despondent as his father prepa More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2008

Michael rated it:

There are lots of fine moments in this breezy account of one teen's life on and off the rez, but it sometimes struck me as a bit random and too breezy. "Unreflected upon," say.

For example, Junior learns that an acquaintance is bulimic pretty early on. Does this come up again or really affect the character in question? Nope. It's merely a device to allow Junior to be momentarily sympathetic to the girl, and his sympathy wins her heart and they become boyfriend and girlfrien More...

12 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2008

Kate rated it:

Wow, wow, wow. I hadn't given this book much thought since I first started hearing about it. I knew that a lot of readers out there thought it would be a contender for the Printz, so as a librarian specializing in teen services I thought I should read it. I can't think of any other book I have read this year that was so moving, so heart breaking, so funny and so full of hope. I haven't read all the new books this year, but I think this one deserve some serious recognition.

Arnold More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2008

Molly rated it:

A great and fast read. The one thing I love about Sherman Alexie is that every word on the page is purposeful (take that, Stephenie Meyer) I'm so glad he wrote something for YAs that will take them to a world here in our country that many don't even know exists. While I found a few social happenings a bit unbelievable, the character felt real and his pain and joy rang true. Great story, great writing. Deserves the National Book Award it has already garnered and deserves some Printz action, More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Jodie rated it:

This book has sort of been on my radar, and yesterday I saw it on one of my student's desk. I excitedly asked him what he thought of it, and his face lit up. He told me he had just finished it and repeated, "It was a really good book" about three times, with the most genuine smile I've seen from this kid all year. When I told him it was on my list of books I wanted to read, he handed it to me and said, "take it." Huh? Then he showed me the sticker on the front cover that More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Larissa rated it:

As part of a personal project to become more familiar with What the Kids Are Reading, I picked up Sherman Alexie's highly recommended (by librarians) Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which won a The National book Award when it was first published in 2007. I finished it in a day.

Part-Time Indian is Alexie’s first YA novel, and is based on his experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation in Washington. It’s narrated (and illustrated) by fifteen-year-old Arnold S More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2012

L12aliciacarrera rated it:

I absolutely loved this book! Sherman Alexie did a wonderful job of sharing the experiences of a Spokane adolescent on an Indian reservation in such a way that I really empathized with the young character. I found this story to be tragic but humorous as well.

Junior is a 14 year old who lives on the reservation. He is constantly being made to feel like an outcast. He was born with many physical ailments which fellow Indians on the reservation use as a weapon to constantly ridicule him More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2008

Kristian rated it:

This book is about a boy named junior living in a Indian reservation. He is going through a lot. like his dad is a alcoholic his family is poor. he goes to a school by the reservation and he has a good friend rowdy. junior and him have been best friends for a while. then one thing ruined there friend ship because junior decided to go to a all white school rear Dan and then rowdy gets really mad at him and he punched junior in the face. then they when he went to rear dan and it was weird because More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2009

Toby rated it:

Winner of the 2009 Odyssey Award for best audiobook as well as the 2007 National Book Award. This is the story of a Spokane Indian boy who refuses to allow his deficits - both physical and cultural - to determine his future. Arnold Spirit copes with life on the Rez by drawing cartoons, an important feature of the print book but absent, of course, in the audiobook. The cartoons add lightness to some of Arnold's observations about life. He notes, for example, that his white friends at sc More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 16, 2010

Harrison rated it:

Harrison Pollak
9/5/10

Book Review of “The Absolutley True Diary of a Part Time Indian”
By Harrison Pollak

Have you ever had to decide something that could change your life completely? Maybe and maybe not, but in this book it puts you in the shoes of a 13-year old Indian named Junior. Junior is living on a reservation who is poor and has a family full of drunks. One day an incident happened at school where he broke his teachers nose. Yes, he broke his More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Amy marked it as to-read

10/11/11 - Read 20 Minutes - Lots of boy language...felt a little uncomfortable. But the reading was really easy for me. Basketball blah blah

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 09, 2008

Rachel rated it:

Funny, but a little smutty. Don't let children read it.

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 26, 2011

Lina rated it:

When I was assigned his book for class [Ethnic American Lit] I wasn't sure what I was getting into. My knowledge of Indians is limited and I can honestly say that I have never met a true Indian. Plenty of people who claim to have that one fifth somewhere, but none as they were seen in this book. While it is fictional and humorous, there is a defiant truth to the issue that are brought up and questioned within the humor of the book. The alcohol abuse, poverty on reservations, the hopelessness of More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2011

Wendy F rated it:

Books like this make me realize that I've become complacent. Others that I've read that I thought were worthy of a 5 star rating I now realize I over rated. It's literature like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian that really sets the mold for the books that truly deserve five stars.

I'm not sure what to say, and partly that's because trying to talk about it sends more tears streaming down my face. Books like this one, or Crazy, Jellicoe Road, The Piper's Son or Looking for Alaska More...

12 comments like (5 people liked it)

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