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

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexie, Sherman. 2007. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Illustrated by Ellen Forney. New York: Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 978-0-316-01368-0

SUMMARY
Arnold Spirit is known as Junior on the Spokane Indian reservation where he and his family live. The Indians on the reservation are so poor that when 9th grade starts, he receives a 30 year old geometry book that used to be his mother's.  When his teacher encourages him to leave the reservation and go to a white school in town, Junior knows it's his only opportunity to leave and to make something of himself.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In this semi-autobiographical novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and a "Best Books of 2007" by the School Library Journal.  In 2008 it was named by YALSA as a "Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults", as well as receiving a 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry. 

Sherman Alexie is a Native American poet, writer and director.  Alexie uses his experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation to write this first novel.  Young adults will relate to the themes of race, home, family, poverty, friendship, mortality, hopes/dreams, traditions and perseverance. Junior feels like he must leave the reservation if he ever wants to make something of himself, but doesn't believe he's worthy enough, stating; "But we reservation Indians don't get to realize our dreams." Alexie shows Junior's evolving identity and character growth while acknowledging stereotypes on both sides. In an honest moment, Junior's teacher confesses, "We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child." 

The illustrations are by Ellen Forney, who teaches cartooning at the Cornish College of the Arts. Since Junior loves drawing and expressing himself through cartoons, Forney's black and white illustrations are touching and an important feature to show readers how Junior sees his world. He believes "...the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny lifeboats."  Particularly interesting was Junior's view on how Whites dress compared to Indians. 

Containing a reference to masturbation and anger at God, this book has often been banned or challenged.  However, it's a realistic view of a young adult trying to understand himself and those around him.  Recommended for grades 9 and up. 

REVIEW EXCERPTS
...Alexie's first foray into the young adult genre, and it took him only one book to master the form. Recently nominated for a National Book Award, this is a gem of a book...Sherman Alexie has explored the struggle to survive between the grinding plates of the Indian and white worlds...may be his best work yet... —The New York Times

Screenwriter, novelist and poet, Alexie bounds into YA with what might be a Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes,a coming-of-age story so well observed that its very rootedness in one specific culture is also what lends it universality, and so emotionally honest that the humor almost always proves painful...Unlike protagonists in many YA novels who reclaim or retain ethnic ties in order to find their true selves, Junior must separate from his tribe in order to preserve his identity. Jazzy syntax and Forney's witty cartoons examining Indian versus White attire and behavior transmute despair into dark humor...--Publishers Weekly

Alexie's portrayal of reservation life, with the help of a great lineup of supporting characters, is realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time. The story is engaging, but readers will also gain insight into American Indian culture and politics as well as a sense for human nature and the complexities of living in a diverse society. Cartoonist Forney's drawings, appearing throughout the book, enhance the story and could nearly stand alone...Recreational readers, especially boys, will enjoy this book, but teachers will also find it filled with lots of material to rouse a good classroom discussion...based on Alexie's own memoir.--VOYA

"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience."--Booklist

"Deftly taps into the human desire to stand out while fitting in."--BookPage

"Fierce observations and sharp sense of humor...hilarious language."--Newsday

"The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and stand-up comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel."--(starred review) - Horn Book

CONNECTIONS
-Collaborate with the Art teachers to discuss cartooning and expressing feelings.  Have students create a comic book with a story that has a beginning, a middle and an end. 

-Have students research the Spokane Indians.  http://www.spokanetribe.com/

-Scholastic has an excellent teaching guide for Grades 9-12 which offers ideas on vocabulary, comprehension, pre/post reading discussion questions, Content Area Connections and more. 
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/absolutely-true-diary-part-time-indian-storia-teaching-guide

-Junior says on pg. 181, "They expected me to be good. And so I became good." Ask students if they believe that other people's beliefs of who they are impact their life and, if so, should it? Has there ever been a person in their life that believed in them and had a positive impact? Who is in their life that believes in them?  If there is no one in their life like this, how can they find one?  Would the student be able to approach that person and talk to them?  

-Here are some discussion questions for students: 

• How are being Native American and poor related in Junior's mind? 
• Why does Junior think so many Native American's drink alcohol? 
• What did Mr. P mean when he said teachers were supposed to "kill the Indian to save the child?" (p. 35)
• Why do you think Junior's parents agreed so quickly to him attending school at Reardan? (p. 46) 
• What does it mean to be a part-time Indian? Do you ever feel like a part-time person? 
• Junior knew that many Indians at the reservation were going to hate him for attending Reardan.  He knew his best friend, Rowdy, wouldn't understand.  Yet he did it anyway.  Do you think Junior had to be strong to make this decision?  Do you think the decision was hard for him? Was the decision right for him? Is it hard to make a decision that you know so many people will disagree with?