The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Jan 24, 2013 Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary

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 be hone...more 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 be honest, I was leery coming into this book. I had read FLIGHT and RESERVATION BLUES and INDIAN KILLER and THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN, and I was expecting little from this book. Mainly I read it because it won the National Book Award. But Sherman Alexie makes a very straightforward narrative electrifying. Being a South Dakotan, I understand the tenuous relationship between Whites and Native Americans, and to think that I would be moved by a Spokane Indian was never really plausible in my mind. Alexie moved me. His words and ideas and descriptions gave me an insight that I previously lacked. Reading Junior’s story gave me the chance to see what it is like to know as a young person what your future will hold if raised on a reservation. The word bleak does not adequately describe these people’s futures; it is much darker than that. But Alexie doesn’t just paint a grim picture of reservation life; he also illuminates the aspects of life that should be cherished within all colors: family and hope. Junior doesn’t have a lot of hope, at first. But as the story progresses, his family provides him with the needed hope to see that the borders of the reservation are meant to be broken, that it is okay to explore life without knowing what the outcome is going to be. At times hilarious, heart-wrenching, and provocative, this quick read is anything but simple. Well, done, Mr. Alexie, well done. (Plus, who doesn’t like reading about basketball every once in awhile in a novel?)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Jan 09, 2008 Betsy rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 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 isn't angry. He just tells Junior in no uncertain terms that it would be in his own best interest to leave the reservation. Some way, somehow, he has to get off and make something of himself. Junior's no fool. He's perfectly aware that leaving the rez will be seen as some kind of a betrayal to his friends and neighbors, but the next thing you know he's applied to Reardan. Reardan is a rich, white school where the only Indian is the school mascot. Joining Reardan means that Junior has figure out what he wants from the world, what he needs from his family, and what he should do with his life.

As for the writing, it's top notch. This kind of subject matter requires a seemingly effortless mixture of laughter and tears. Sherman Alexie manages to deliver this, so that a funeral for Junior's grandmother is just as full of outright guffaws as it is pain and distress. Alexie also knows how to wield a delightful one-liner. "PCs are like French people living during the bubonic plague." Or about a bulimic girl who tries to cover it up the odor with gum, "She just smells like somebody vomited on a big old cinnamon tree." Finally, when Junior talks about cartooning as an art, he isn't dinking around. I enjoyed the section where he explained that "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."

Since Part-Time Indian received the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, it has gotten its own fair share of attention. This is great since I felt that cartoonist Ellen Forney clearly needs as much of it as she can get. Forney has created the cartoons that appear throughout Part-Time Indian, charged with the task of making them seem as though they are from the pen of Junior himself. Alexie reportedly requested Ms. Forney specifically for this book. She's not the first cartoonist to come to mind when you picture adolescent teen boy suffering, but credit Alexie for his insight. Somehow her unabashed sexuality and love of the funny works when you tone it down just right. She's definitely reigned in her wilder tendencies (a quick glance at her book I Love Led Zeppelin will confirm this) but she's managed to do it without stifling herself or her natural talent. Who knew she could even draw happy pegasuses and smiley clouds? Not me. I also appreciated the subtlety in some of her cartoons. At one point we look at an image of Junior's best friend Rowdy as he's reading his comic books. In the picture Junior has drawn a big angry face yelling, "What're you drawing??" with the explanation, "Rowdy . . . He hates it when I draw him! Never lets me finish." If you look at the picture carefully, though, you can see the outlines of Rowdy's real features hidden beneath the cartoony angry face.

I may as well just start lobbing this book at the heads of the teens I see entering my library. Anything to get them awake and noticing its existence. My objections are few and my praise strong and clear. A great title and well worth the hype it has been receiving. Go forth, my children, and read it all up. You'll feel better after you do.

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Nov 29, 2007 Jess rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: young-adult, high-school, sports, mock-printz-2008, national-book-award

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 you know me, I’m a sucker for YA. A...more 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 you know me, I’m a sucker for YA. And for YA that everyone’s been raving about. And that wins the National Book Award.

Here’s one of my favorite things about the book: almost everything that makes you laugh is also heartbreaking. This in no way makes it less funny, or less sad. It’s both, perfectly, at once. Just like the times when Junior is heartbroken but can’t. stop. laughing.

Also, Junior is a book kisser.

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’m a book kisser.
Maybe that’s kind of perverted or maybe it’s just romantic and highly intelligent.

While it certainly packs a punch, it’s a quick, engaging read and I think it would be equally engaging to high schoolers and adults. It’s one I could pick up and read through again, if I didn’t have so many others waiting for me.

Also, the 1 and 2 star reviews on Amazon are pretty diverting. “The protagonist is too similar to all of those annoying protagonists in young adult fiction today,” says the 1 star. Yes, they’re all so annoying aren’t they? They’re not, you know, struggling with figuring out who they are and what their place is in the world. They don’t have problems with friends or family or school or themselves. They’re simply annoying. Oh, teenagers. Both reviews pick on the Catcher in the Rye similarities, but honestly I never thought of Catcher until Junior mentioned it on his list of favorite books. Along with The Grapes of Wrath. And Feed. And Fat Kid Rules the World. And Invisible Man. And some others that I haven’t read. But really, I was more struck by the inclusion of Steinbeck and Ellison than the others - you have poverty and you have race, pretty squarely represented. Issues that are much more emphasized, I would say, than any similarities to Holden.
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Apr 22, 2008 Meghan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

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 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 had to break and rebuild, but I feel like in general they were willing to give me the tools.

One thing that got harped a lot was Learning About Our Native American Friends. And basically at this point we were all claiming colorblindness, probably one of the most harmful lessons I learned. As such we were taught to approach unfamiliar cultures, and native cultures in particular, with this kind of cold, bowed reverence. Sure we had destroyed them but at least we could appreciate this amazing story about a turtle being the world!!!!

But you know what? Never and not once did I ever get a chance to really appreciate American Indians for what they were at that very moment, and that was people living in the same weather at the same time in the same state. We learned about longhouses but never about reservation economics. Here and there you would have a movie or a TV character who was of native descent, and that poor individual was forced to be kind of both wise beyond his or her years but also kind of fun loving so we knew that we were GUILTY BECAUSE OF WHAT WE HAD DONE AND WHAT WE THOUGHT OF THEM AND ALSO THEY WERE STILL THE OTHER (DANNY FROM HEY DUDE I AM LOOKING AT YOU) THE OTHER THE OTHER THE OTHER THE OTHER THE OTHER.

The other: the most awful thing we do, you guys.

So anyway, this book. It may be well-trod ground for Alexie, I kind of get that feeling (even if you've just read "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" you will immediately pick out similar elements), but as a middle-grade book I am seeing it standing alone. It's a totally real teenage guy voice, kind of dirty, kind of abrupt, kind not all that interested in the nuances of relationships and yet totally aware of how they work. Alexie doesn't solve a thing in this book, plus the good guy/bad guy thing is so muddled that it can only be true.

If I'd inhaled this book as a kid, right alongside my Roald Dahls and Judy Blumes I think I really seriously would have been better at knowing anything about the fraught modern relationship that USA USA USA USA has with its natives. And goddamn, among all the learning about the Five Nations and the screenings of sanctimonious videos, I might have actually learned something.
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Apr 19, 2008 Glenn Miller rated it 1 of 5 stars

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

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Kasey Like everyone else commenting this, I'm saying that this book had many bits and pieces of Sherman Alexie's actual childhood. Not everything was true,...more
Jan 19, 2013 05:11pm

Ro Cepellos I'm usually the first one to hate convenient plot developments that heavy-handedly push an agenda, but nothing in this tale felt that way. Him and Pen...more
Feb 05, 2013 04:33pm

Nov 28, 2007 Abby rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

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 & basket...more 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 & basketball, has an angry best friend, has many drunk & depressed relatives, etc -- and adding some teen slang & angst to the mix.

There are several deaths in this novel, and they happen so quickly & abruptly that they almost feel cartoonish in a way. Alexie only gives his readers one or two scenes with the characters who die, and in most of these scenes their personalities and words are filtered through the narrator's voice. So it's difficult for the reader to really feel the impact of their loss in the narrator's life. We don't know these characters as full personalities, so we can't really grieve with the narrator or fully appreciate his grief.

Finally, there was the gratuitous use of a homophobic slur in an exchange between the main character & his best friend. Alexie even acknowledges that it's problematic to use these words, writing "Now that might just sound like a series of homophobic insults, but I think it was also a little bit friendly. ." I found this acknowledgment silly, out of character, and even a little bit offensive. The characters are not queer, so it's not as though they were reclaiming the words to use with each other. Alexie knows it's not kosher to use those terms unless you belong to that group yourself, so he tries to get away with it by having the character show some awareness that it's not okay. But in the end, he's simply validating the use of hateful terms. Either make your character a homophobe (or at least someone who's naive about the meaning of those terms) or make him someone who understands how hurtful those words can be and refuses to use them. But don't write a two-page chapter that ends with the main straight character calling himself "a happy faggot." Just don't do it. (less)

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Aug 27, 2007 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

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 and his friends as they tr...more

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 and his friends as they try to start a band (and deal with the relative fame that follows). Like Reservation Blues, this novel is filled with equal parts humor and tragedy along with some memorable characters thrown in to taste. What surprised me about Diary is that it is also more biting that Reservation Blues. At times Alexie’s descriptions of white-Indian relations and life on the rez are so scathing that they’re painful to read. And yet . . . I couldn’t put the book down.

Now that you are sufficiently intrigued, let’s talk about the plot.

This story revolves around Arnold “Junior” Spirit, his family and his best friend, Rowdy. We join Arnold at the beginning of the novel at the age of 14. Born with a variety of physical ailments, Arnold is used to being picked on. He doesn’t mind, though, because he knows he has his art and his intelligence and his family. Things get complicated for Arnold when he realizes that he has to leave the reservation in order to get a good education and succeed where most of his family and friends have failed. So Arnold starts going to the all-white school in a neighboring all-white town.

As the story progresses, Arnold grapples with his decision and trying to figure out his identity in his new surroundings. With the additions of love, rivalry, and basketball Alexie has enough twists to keep the most impatient readers enthralled. The illustrations by Ellen Forney also really add to the text.

In Reservation Blues and some of his other works, Alexie brings up the issue of alcoholism and heavy drinking on the reservation. The subject comes up again here. I can’t say that I understand heavy drinking as a past time in general–it remains equally perplexing here. At the same time, Alexie aptly shows the damage that one too many bottles of . . . whatever . . . can cause, which is part of why I think this novel is really important.

But you won’t be reading this book just because I happen to think it’s important. No. I expect that you will find yourself charmed by Arnold and his unique outlook on life and opportunity. I know I did.

Like Alexie’s other writing, this book is poetic and beautiful but still razor sharp.

When I finished reading, I didn’t know what to say–so much so that I wanted to immediately re-read it. (It’s the kind of book that you can do that with.) I think that’s the best response you can have to a book: when it’s so good it leaves you speechless.
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Jan 26, 2010 Caris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, young-adult

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 Germany. I'm not saying t...more 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 Germany. I'm not saying that there aren't any Native Americans in our family tree, I'm just suggesting that, if they are there, they're clinging to the really, really thin branches near the top. You'd think, though, with how I was raised, that my father was Sitting Bull.

My mother's love of Native American culture colors her view of it. It's all full of sacred profundities that white folks don't have. They have that connection to the Earth rather than a connection to an oddly white Middle Easterner nailed to a pair of intersecting sticks. But my mother's love is a romantic love and she kind of ignores the ever present flaws.

Sherman Alexie has taught me that Native Americans, in addition to their rich cultures, have a sacred connection to booze. Their self-destructive tendencies become their dominant characteristic in his work, overshadowing any cultural significance they might have. Junior has attended forty-two funerals in his life; he's fourteen years old. He experiences a number of deaths throughout the book and all are related to alcohol.

In his own darkly funny way, Junior seeks to better himself. By his own account, he isn't very brave. Yet, he puts himself at odds with his own tribe in an effort to break free of the future he knows he will have if he stays.

You can't buy that part in a Southwestern art store. You can learn about the Trail of Tears and the thieving of land. You can feel sympathy for these things. But until you realize that this entire culture is, to this day, confined to concentration camps, you're just not looking at it's history honestly. Concentration camps may seem a bit strong, but I think it's an apt description. Native Americans are born there and they die there. They live with poverty and crime.

There was this part of the book where Junior is having Thanksgiving dinner with his family. He comments on how odd it is for Native Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving on the reservation. Confused, he asks his father what they have to be thankful for. His father says they should be thankful that the white man didn't kill all of them. They have a good laugh at that.

I had a good laugh at that.

But it ain't funny.(less)

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Aug 23, 2011 Mollie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, own, september, ya

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 courage for a boy, who...more 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 courage for a boy, who is already known around the rez as a "retard" and a "faggot". Most of that has to do with the brain damage that he endured as a child, the subsequent seizures that would often plague him, and his general awkwardness. So already he's an outcast. When he transfers to the new school he isolates himself even further because his tribe views him as a traitor. Add to that alcoholic parents and a best friend turned frienemy and Junior is about the loneliest soul you could imagine. But he keeps trucking on.

Through it all, the good and the bad, Junior never loses his sense of humor. I find that heartening and hopeful. When faced with poverty, death, prejudice, and bullying Junior still manages to find humor in such tragic circumstances. Junior even verbalizes this saying:

". . . I realized that, sure, Indians were drunk and sad and displaced and crazy and mean, but dang, we knew how to laugh. When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing."
As a white person, I cannot say whether or not The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian accurately portrays the Native American experience however, Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman and assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, whose blog discusses "Critical perspectives of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society-at-large", praises the book stating:

"There's a lot in the book that I really like because I connect with the character, the setting, the experiences... It is real and brutally honest."

If Debbie finds it a valid representation of the Native American experience, I'm certainly going to believe her considering her heritage and her educational background. I encourage you to check out Debbie's blog if you're at all interested in the representation of Native Americans in YA (or Children's) lit. Her blog is a wonderful place to get recommendations for accurate portrayals of Native Americans.

A lot of the tragedy that befalls Junior is, in some way, related to one of the harsh realities of life on the rez: alcoholism. As I understand, this is a huge problem among Native Americans. It was interesting the way Junior described having an alcoholic father and how that compared to his white classmates' fathers:

"I mean, yeah, my dad would sometimes go on a drinking binge and be gone for a week, but those white dads can completely disappear without ever leaving the living room. They can just BLEND into their chairs. They become their chairs. . . There are white parents, especially fathers, who never come to school. They don't come for their kids' games, concerts, plays, or carnivals." " I realize my parents are pretty good. . . they make sacrifices for me. They worry about me. They talk to me. And best of all, they listen to me."

So while his parent's aren't perfect and as much as Junior may envy some of the advantages of his white classmates, he still understands, appreciates, and values his family and his community.

It's really difficult for me to articulate how amazing this book is. On one hand it's heartbreakingly sad, on the other it is humorous and uplifting. It just goes to show that we're not all just one thing. Junior, isn't just an Indian, this isn't just another YA book. This is something special.
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Apr 24, 2008 Joseph rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

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Jan 16, 2009 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-uns, ya

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 Indian reservatio...more 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 Indian reservation in Wellpinit, Washington with his parents (part to full time alcoholics), his sister (a depressed basement dweller), and his grandmother (the one functional member of the family). He also has a best friend called Rowdy, a young man whose father beats him and who, in turn, beats up everyone in his path. Except Junior. When we first meet him, Junior is excited to begin his first day of high school. A self-proclaimed nerd of the highest order, Junior eagerly opens his geometry book only to find his mother's name inscribed inside the cover. That's right. This is the same geometry book his mother used when she was a freshman in high school. Junior is filled with such hopeless rage that he chucks the book at his teacher, earning himself a suspension. But after a conversation with his teacher, he sets out on a quest for hope, resolving to transfer to the local white school in Reardan.

I loved this book for so many reasons. I loved it for the humor, dialogue, and artwork. But also for the ache it gave me in the back of my throat when I imagined a life like Junior's. This is my second encounter with Sherman Alexie's work. Awhile back I watched and loved Smoke Signals and that came back to haunt me (in a good way) so many times that I was eager for more. This book is semi-autobiographical and that thought alone kept my emotions very close to the surface throughout the reading. The obvious and favorable comparisons to John Green and Chris Crutcher are certainly valid and definite indicators of whether or not you will like the book. But it's worth mentioning that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian also reminded me of the tough, direct prose found in My Heartbeat and the throbbing longing of I am the Messenger. If any of this sounds like your cuppa, I'd add this one to your stack posthaste.
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Jan 16, 2010 Malbadeen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, childrens-young-adult

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 self aware without being p...more

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May 26, 2008 Sandi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, young-adult

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 him because his fe...more

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Mar 01, 2008 Molly Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Jan 07, 2011 Olivia rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 very realistic, it is funny, and you can get very attached to the characters.
It was a really good book...more 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 very realistic, it is funny, and you can get very attached to the characters.
It was a really good book because it was very realistic. The fact that he was bullied was so interesting since that happens to so many teenagers nowadays. “Kids on the rez call me a retard at least twice a day.” Every one knows that it sucks to be made fun of, but he manages to handle it pretty well. All of the kids his age and older called him names and beat him up. He got used to it, but it was still a terrible thing to have to go through. So when he made new friends at his new school he loved it.
Another reason why this book was so good was because it was funny. I really couldn’t stop laughing while I read this book, it was so funny! For example, one of the chapter titles was “why chicken is so important to me”. During that chapter Arnold is talking about what it is like to live in poverty. He somehow manages to make that chapter funny! Alexie really manages to find the funny points of being a teenager and growing up!
Finally I loved this book because I got really attached to Arnold. Arnold was just such a lovable character. He is very self-deprecating in his drawings and jokes. If you look on page 5 there is a great picture where he makes himself look completely ridiculous. You will find these great drawings he makes through out the book.
So I thought his was a really good book because it is very realistic, funny, and you really get attached to the characters. I really connected to this book, because I always try to find the joke in things that are hard in life. So did Arnold, and he really seemed like someone I would get along with. What I learned from this book was that no matter how bad your situation is, you can always find the joke in it.

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Mar 25, 2013 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Packs a punch," as the description would have it, could be interpreted in so many ways. I think it's more effective to say that Alexie grabbed the front of my shirt and lifted me close to his face and yelled at me and shook me. Not subtle, ok? Not graceful, either. Kinda tiring. Yeah, I know, it'd be even more tiring to live the lives of Junior and his family & people. And yeah, there was some pretty funny stuff, and plenty of inspiration and hope etc.

So, I can see why it's won awards. I c...more

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Jan 23, 2010 MissDziura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: multicultural-multiethnic-and-inter, miss-dziura-recommends

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 sometimes juvenile t...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-gold-star-award-winner, trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com

I'll admit -- I put off reading THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN for well over a year, in favor of more "exciting" books. Boy, what a mistake I made!

Told from the perspective of thirteen-year-old Arnold Spirit, an intelligent, observant, sarcastic Indian born with encephalitis and a love of cartooning, Sherman Alexie takes us along with him as he moves away from a circumscribed, oppressive life on the Spokane reservation towards a more promisin...more

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Aug 22, 2008 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: students, teachers, parents, people who are or are around adolescents

Recommended to Julia by: I real all Alexie

"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 prepares to shoot Arno...more

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Jul 22, 2008 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-lit

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 girlfriend. At that point, he s...more

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view all 11 comments

Isaac Hamlet Brandon thank you. I cope with crap with a breezey attitude i can only imagin how I would think if my entire life was crap. I'm not sure how many peop...more
Oct 31, 2010 04:59pm

Michael Interesting to read these comments on my long-ago review lo these years later. I still stand by my two-star rating—which, for the record, means "It wa...more
Jan 24, 2012 09:19am

Aug 06, 2009 Newengland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished-in-2009, ya

Sherman Alexie's YA foray is well worth the trip, complemented by the artwork of Ellen Forney, playing the role of young artist Arnold Spirit, Jr. Funny, sad, all that. Some fun basketball scenes along with great commentary about the nature of male friendship when you're young (Arnold's tough buddy Rowdy beats him up quite a bit, but they're great friends -- until Junior moves away to the white high school in Reardan).

Most important to this book is the theme of culture, both what Alexie loves a...more

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Jan 24, 2008 Kate McCartney rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction

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 (Junior) is a te...more

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Sep 09, 2010 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, read-2010, five-star-rating

OMG ! Funniest book ever to have read in a long time !

Warning #1 : Do not read this book in public, you will laugh yourself silly and look like an idiot to others.

Warning #2 : Do not eat or drink while reading this book, you never know when food is gonna come out of your mouth, which will again make you like an idiot.

Trust me, I've been there. SEVERAL TIMES !!!

I was laughing so hard, it was ridiculous.
Some parts were really sad but the author found a way to make even that funny, seriously! ho...more

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Jan 10, 2008 Molly rated it 4 of 5 stars

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, which...more

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Jan 15, 2009 Jodie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

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 said, "FREE BOOK! Read a...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Parker Cavallaro rated it 5 of 5 stars

I do believe that utilizing pure narrative style can take two very different paths. One path reflects the failure to break new ground on a style that has been exhausted in the author's previous works. The other path reveals the success in deliberate adherence to this same narrative style. That is, the story's ability to reflect the true nature of character and event, while still presenting themes and motifs that can be examined by the reader indefinitely. Sherman Alexie succeeds in taking the l...more I do believe that utilizing pure narrative style can take two very different paths. One path reflects the failure to break new ground on a style that has been exhausted in the author's previous works. The other path reveals the success in deliberate adherence to this same narrative style. That is, the story's ability to reflect the true nature of character and event, while still presenting themes and motifs that can be examined by the reader indefinitely. Sherman Alexie succeeds in taking the latter path with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Alexie's "Junior" not only deserves this poignant and humorous narrative style, but demands it as a character. The pacing and word choice executed by Alexie reflect the progression of Junior from his insecurities to his irresistible sense of situational intuition, self-reflection, and hilarious but realistic observations of his peers, teachers, family members, and school visitors.
Alexie crafts a Young Adult novel that maintains an equally canonical value for older readers--so much so that the work may be interpreted stylistically and content-wise by any age group or academic level. The book's content can be gleaned and analyzed through whatever baseline value of literary complexity the reader chooses to execute.
The story is, at its core, a journey of development that is reliant on the strength of family and friends. Junior's life is often presented as a dichotomy between his existence on and off the Spokane reservation. The challenges that Junior faces are a combination of typical adolescent transitions, and genuinely problematic scenarios that can and do arise out of life on Native American reservations. It is the realistic preservation of these issues that instills a convincing, unflinching sense of an American life that, quite simply, most Y.A. audiences lack exposure to:
The idea that poverty can sear a brand into the very psyche of a young boy, and that this poverty can control the outward presentation of one's personality and self-confidence (See Pg. 127 p.2, Pgs. 11-13 w/ drawing).
A reminder of the relationship between best friends, the sort of relationship that generates lucid and throat-lumpingly sad memories of love, introspection and conflict. This is the sort of friendship many readers may hope to have, and Junior is a sensational reflection of what readers will someday experience in their own retrospective moments on previous companions, best buddies, and foes alike.
And, the all-important reference to America's impression of how we try to assimilate ourselves with Native culture. Perhaps readers have witnessed his or her own version of "Ted" (Pg. 162). "I'm not Indian...but I feel Indian in my bones." Alexie's wordcraft brings this sort of character to life with a personality as convincing as any overly-wealthy zealot with fairytale aspirations of having real Native American blood.
Yes, Alexie covers his bases, and at least the basics of reservation life in an accessible package that will be cherished and redistributed for future generations. However this novel is absolutely not meant to be treated as some sort of capstone on the modern Native American 'rez' lifestyle. It is simply a starting point, the beginning of another path, for readers to understand the plight of characters like Junior, and the countless other Juniors spread throughout the bonds of American Native culture.(less)

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Mar 25, 2009 Larissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kinder, 2009, usa, read-by-recommendation, young-adult, epistolary

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 Spirit, Jr. (...more 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 Spirit, Jr. (usually just ‘Junior’) who finds himself in the middle of a rather substantial identity crisis when he decides to attend a middle- class and predominantly white high school twenty-two miles away from his reservation. Being a physically awkward, bespectacled, awkward bookworm has already made Junior somewhat of an outcast in his Spokane community, and his choice to ‘abandon the rez’ only increases his isolation at home. The only Indian (note: Junior never refers to himself as a ‘Native American’ in the book) to have ever attended his new high school, he finds himself teased and tricked, but most often ignored, by his classmates until an unlikely relationship with a lovely blonde named Penelope and a burgeoning talent for basketball change his circumstances somewhat.

Junior’s voice is that of a smart, self-deprecating, and earnestly hopeful teenager who can appreciate the nuance of social hierarchies and cultural differences, while still getting a kick out of pictures of bare asses, farts, ambidextrous (and ‘chronic’) masturbation, and well, a whole lot of teenage ‘boy stuff.’ He’s a well-realized and endearing character who you can feel a kinship with even if you don’t necessarily relate to what he’s going through. Because this isn’t a ‘coming of age’ novel with wholly relatable subject matter, one of those books that supposedly captures a universal experience. And I mean that as a good thing. This is a story about a very specific person with a very specific perspective—not a bland, generalized story which somehow attempts to encapsulate all teenage experience.

Often eschewing his plot line for well-paced and brief tangents, Alexie paints a vivid picture of life on an impoverished yet tight-knit reservation, without getting caught up in either sentimentality or out-and-out condemnation. He reveals the vicious cycle of poverty, alcohol abuse, apathy, racism, segregation, and lackluster education that exist within/around contemporary Indian communities, but finds the source of the problem to be internally, as well as externally, inflicted. That he’s able to approach his (often tragic) subject matter with humor and a balanced perspective is a mark of his talent.
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Jan 21, 2012 L12aliciacarrera rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mclit

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. Junior rea...more

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Nov 25, 2008 Kristian rated it 5 of 5 stars

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 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 everyone looked at him like what she doing here. this girl asked him what his name was and he answered junior then a lot of people made fun of him. but then the teacher said his real name Arnold and then the girl said that he was a lier but he was no because he had a real name and a middle name and junior sounded cooler. no one knew he was poor until he went to the dance and he wore his dads suit from like 1999 but everyone liked it until they took junior to where he was gonna be dropped off and people asked is he poor and he was tiered of lying and he said yes no one really card that he was poor so he was cool for the rest of the time. junior is good at basketball so he tried out for the team and he made it and when he went to his game he played he was playing until a quater hit him in his head and he was bleeding like crazy. Then the people brought him in the looker room and they said he was going to be okay so he said that he wanted to get stitched up to play. but that was not possible. he played all the games and won a lot of them then he went to a game and he had to guard his x best friend but in his head he was still rowdy's friend so rowdy went up to dunk and junior took the ball from him then junior faked a dunk then when rowdy jumped junior got up and dunked on him but then rowdy felt sad because he was usually the good one so then junior felt sad.
on page 200 i noticed the quote the unhappy part about 90 percent of my family deaths are from alcohol. i can connect this to the world because there a lot of alcoholic people out in the world that die from drinking to much. its hard for junior because a lot of people died in his family and he is getting a bad influence from people. i know that junior is going through a lot because if your family member dies its really sad and the fact that they died from drinking is even sadder.
i give this book 5 stars because it was a really good book. it was a funny book and a interesting book and it was not boring like i wanted to finish the book all in one night. i think any kid that wants to read a funny book or some one who is into humor and i think that any kid would want to read this book because it keeps you alive. (less)

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Feb 06, 2009 Toby rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, children-s-award-winner

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 school can...more

1 like · like · see review

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