The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman, Alexie. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and company, 2007.

Annotation- Arnold "Junior" Spririt is 14 and tries to escape the pitfalls of life on his reservation by going to an all white school 22 miles away. Various adventures and life experiences await Junior in his new school.

Justification for nomination: This book was very enjoyable for a variety of reasons. First of all the main character was relatable and felt authentic. The authentic voice may have something to do with that the story was based around some of the author's experiences. The book also gets bonus points for reluctant readers for the pictures and comics that help out the story. If you ever remember flipping through a book to see how many pictures were inside as criteria for picking it up this book is it. It was also written very simple, with short sentences and paragraphs, so it is an easy read, but it never talks down to you. The best part of Sherman Alexie is he allows you to have empathy for the characters and can make you cry with their pain but will always make you laugh afterwards. I also nominate this book based the need for students to hear a voice from the Native American reservation so that people can understand the realities of reservation life for some. Anybody who is going into urban education should especially pay attention to this book. This book authentically deals real teen issues and general real life issues quite well. It should appeal to teens because of Junior's (the main character) adventures of finding self in a complex world, leaving part of youth behind and becoming more and more adult every day. The book is a must read for teens and adults for it's authentic voice, complex relatable character, attention to teen lit genre markers and use of humor and tragedy.

Genre: Coming of age