Rams Readers Spring 2014 discussion
The Absolue True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Anyone, think they might ever use it as a read-aloud?
I'm not sure I would use it as a read aloud for 2 reasons. 1) that would take away from the illustrations that I think add so much to the story and character emotion and 2) I am not sure if I'm brave enough to say things like "masturbation" and "sexy" in front of teens and pre-teens.
I loved this book. I could totally relate to Junior. I think most students could also. Junior struggles with identifying who he is based on what others see him as and eventually finds and accepts who he is. This book could teach students acceptance, open mindedness, and the hurt that can come from being closed-minded. I liked that this book showed that you cant judge a book by its cover. For example, Junior thought Penelope was perfect then discovered that she has issues just like him.
I agree with Jenna on reading this book out loud. I don't think I could say all the sexual language in this book to my class.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book being a first time read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the tone of the book, it was a mixture of humor, emotions, and had tons of great themes. Some of the themes that I would discuss is poverty, friendship, mortality, race, and I'm sure there is more! I might even have students read this as a "book club" and have them find there own themes and reflect. Like Jenna and Maira said, I am not sure this I would have the guts to read this aloud, even though it is a "natural" subject, but I do think that it is very relatable for teens and even adults. I especially appreciated the friendship between Arnold and Rowdy, things were complicated once Arnold left the reservation, but in the end things came full circle and they were able to be friends again. I also loved Arnold's own interpretations of life, his feeling stuck between what seemed to be 2 lives; his life on the reservation and at school. I think this book is really engaging, and would definitely recommend for students and even friends!
I have never read anything by Sherman Alexie, but have always intended too, so I was delighted to see this book assigned to us. I am forever telling or asking my students about the appropriateness of something they have said. In my first year of teaching I had a parent call me because of a discussion about rape in my classroom. It wasn't actually a discussion at all. I certainly didn't bring it up. A student said something about it and as quickly as I could, I changed the subject, so I am very wary of bringing up controversial subjects in class with junior high students. So you've probably correctly surmised I wouldn't read this book in my class. I'd also check with my librarian to see if it was in our school library before I put it in my classroom library. Because I teach ESL students, I think I see firsthand a lot of what Arnold experienced. It has become my goal is to help students see that they can be a mediator between both worlds for their families, and as they become adults with careers, they can mediate between the two cultures. I liked a lot of the wisdom imparted in this book. A quote from the book that stood out to me is, "If you let people into your life a a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing." This was after Roger gave him Arnold money to pay for the pancake order after the Winter Prom and drove him home to the reservation when Penelope discovered his father really wouldn't be picking him up. Sherman Alexie short stories were supposed to be read on NPR tonight. I will miss that broadcast. Rats!
Great quote V. I think Junior, had some of the best quotes, I loved his characters sense of humor!
Jenna wrote: "Ok, so I loved this book. I loved the characters and how absolutely true they seemed (ha ha, but I mean raw and real). No one had this perfect story book life. There were struggles and emotion like..."I really enjoyed this book also. I found it humor warmhearted but at the same time I found myself hurting for Arnold. Having a special needs child I can identify with his pain. Yet his humor about his tragic situation makes it easier to read. I don't know if I would have this as a read aloud book because of the subject matter of rape, masturbation,and sex. Maybe in a Senior's English class but it would depend on the maturity level of the students. I would like my students to look at poverty through Arnold's eyes and also bullying.
There are many things in this book which would make good discussion in a class and I can see it how it would help all our students to understand that even though we come from different backgrounds we all still struggle with death, life, and frustration when we feel trapped. I especially like how he compare white fathers to Indian fathers, and white parents to Indian parents. As a parent I know I sometimes get caught up in my own problems and the pressures of my job and my children at times suffer. I hope that I am not the type of parent described as being present but not really there.
How amazing to have a book such as this written. I can't explain how much I could relate to this book. As a young child I grew up feeling like I didn't belong in any one of the worlds I was thrown into. My parents were super strict and real demanding in staying true to our heritage, culture and traditions. However, growing up here in Texas, things weren't always similar in culture or traditions. This book is a great book to have students read, unfortunately it would have to be read by a mature audience. It has a comical side and situations that some students would be able to relate with. However, the sex language isn't my cup of tea when it comes to speaking with children. Having to speak with my own was enough...lol.
Maira wrote: "I loved this book. I could totally relate to Junior. I think most students could also. Junior struggles with identifying who he is based on what others see him as and eventually finds and accepts w..."Indeed this was a great book and might come in handy when it comes to seeing a teenager struggle with his or her identity.
I think it's interesting how Junior essentially had two personas and a different name for each. He was junior on the reservation and Arnold at his new school. It's funny reading these posts because we also call him either Arnold or Junior. I wonder how telling that is....
Diana wrote: "How amazing to have a book such as this written. I can't explain how much I could relate to this book. As a young child I grew up feeling like I didn't belong in any one of the worlds I was thrown ..."Yeah, isn't it amazing the deep nature of the themes in this book? It really tackled heavy identity issues with humor and teenage awkwardness.
I opened this book with more excitement than the last few. Wow, I was not disappointed! I loved the bold language and the humor. Not just the I’m an awkward and angsty teenager type of humor, but real jokes about his friends, family, and his life. Junior really was a comedian.I think this helped while reading it because I wondered if I should be laughing at the things he said about “the rez” or about Indians in general. But there were so many tender and serious moments handled in true adolescent literature form.
I wondered as I read, who is this author? Who is he to say these things about the Spokane Indians. I don’t mean that in an offended way because #1 I don’t think it was offensive, it seemed openly truthful, and #2 I don’t think the real-life people represented in this story need me to be offended for them. Soo, not in an offended way, but in a curious way-I need to find out more about this author, and I will.
I love one comment about the book from Publishers Weekly that said, “A Native American equivalent to Angela’s Ashes.” It really is the perfect way to put it, and just as Angela’s Ashes is, this one will go down for me as a favorite.
As far as being a read-aloud....if I had the nerve, which I think I do now, but I don't have kids in front of me...I totally would read this aloud. It's super interesting and entertaining. But, like Jenna talked about, you would have to share the cartoons, because they really impact the story for the better.
As I read the book I felt like this would apply to any young students who have a hard time fitting in with the theme, "never give up". I was happy to see this story have more of a upbeat feeling as you read through the book, as you see him conquer the bullying throughout the story. He was finally able to find the true meaning of happiness as he was about to fit in inside a all white school. What was more interesting was his own race was bullying him but when he came across the students outside the reservation which wasn't his race he wasn't bullied. What a great story!
I loved this book! It was such an easy read and I believe students will definitely benefit from reading The absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. It sort of reminded me of the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.I enjoyed this book and the illustrations made the book come to life. Instead of picturing what Junior's parents look like he drew his own perception of how they looked, (or what they would've looked like if they followed their dreams) this added character to the book. I think students will enjoy this book because the illustrations will help feed their imaginations. This book definitely sucked me in from the first few pages and of course I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed this book and I probably wouldn't have ever picked it up to read otherwise.
Tricia wrote: "As far as being a read-aloud....if I had the nerve, which I think I do now, but I don't have kids in front of me...I totally would read this aloud. It's super interesting and entertaining. But, lik..."Perhaps if I had the nerve to read this book aloud I would use one of those machines that reflects on the wall, they use to be called overhead projectors but now they are called something else and are really good to use for a read aloud book and have the kids follow along in their own books. We have them at my school but since I work mostly one on one with students I dont get a chance to use one.
Whether the reader is Indian or not I find this book extremely relatable. We all tend to dissect ourselves into parts, especially when trying to fit in during adolescents, and feel like we are phony at times. Junior felt white on the reservation because he chose to leave but Indian at the white school because he was so different from his peers there. Today we have many mixed and biracial students that often feel that they walk the line between two worlds. People want to box everyone up with labels like black or white but how can you ask a child to choose when it is essentially like asking them to pick their mother or father. This book was about culture rather than race but I see it being very beneficial to those struggling with any kind of identity issue.
I enjoyed Junior so much. I hurt for him and laughed with him and loved his sometimes critical view of the world. It actually reminded me somewhat of the book we have coming up, Wonder, although to be honest Junior is a less sympathetic character in my opinion just because of the honesty of the book. He embodies the adolescent male and that is not always a cute thing. Ha ha