[Subdue]The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, 4 stars & laughs

[NancyJ]

This is a funny, entertaining, and (I think) realistic YA book about a 14 year old Indian boy who lives on a reservation, but decides to attend a white high school many miles away. I listened to the audio narrated by the author, and it was well done. It reminded me of when I listened to Trevor Noah’s book Born A Crime. While a lot of the humor (e.g. about boners) caters to the interests of 14 year boys, his observations about life appealed to me too. It’s very mild (no sex or rape) but it’s a fixture on banned book lists - which only makes the book more appealing to kids, and adults in reading challenges.

The main character in the book was born with hydrocephalus as an infant, which required surgeries, and affected his speech and appearance as he was growing up. He was very smart, but his speech hid that fact from most people. He suffered some teasing and abuse from other kids, but his tough best friend became the most important person in his life. A conversation / confession from his math teacher (who began his teaching career when the goal was to remove the Indian from the child) led him to a difficult decision.

My audio also includes an interview with the author, which I’ll be listening to soon.

[Shelly]

I never got around to writing a review, but I gave this one 5 stars. I appreciated the humor set against the reality of life for Native Americans.

[Joy D]

I enjoyed this one, too! I always appreciate the addition of humor or some positive aspect of life, especially when other parts of life are so hard.

[Lyn]

Many years ago the neighboring school district banned this book, so of course my book group at the time had to read it. I remember none of us thought the book was worthy of banishment (but then none of us believe in book banning anyway), and thought all the press about it just made book sales increase.
Personally I think it is a great book and would have no problem sharing it with my teens and preteens. It's real life.