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January 2, 2008
THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
Anyone who has ever felt like they don’t fit in will relate to Arnold Spirit, the main character in Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
Arnold is a Native American teenager living on a reservation with his extremely poor family. Though he suffers from physical limitations, such as feet that are too big and very bad eyesight, he is the smartest kid at the reservation school. When a teacher encourages him to enroll in a public school off of the reservation, Arnold decides to go for it. He transfers to the rich white school where he is the only Indian besides the school mascot. Not only is he bullied at the new school, but he is bullied at home on the reservation by those who feel that he has betrayed them by leaving. As the year goes on, Arnold must try to find his place in between two completely different worlds.
A National Book Award Winner, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will have you laughing one minute and crying the next.
I recommend this book to teens in grades 9-12.
Paula Cea
Young Adult Librarian
Posted by fjacksonem at January 2, 2008 3:27 PM