A coming-of-age quest for hope — THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN reviewed
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reviewed by Edmee
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney is a moving—and hilarious—read. Diary is narrated by Arnold “Junior” Spirit, a down-to-earth, quirky, and dorky teenage boy who lives and goes to school on an Aboriginal reservation in Wellpinit. Despite his family’s poverty, his complicated medical history, and his tendency to attract bullies, Junior possesses a number of wonderful things: his dog, his family, and his best friend Rowdy.
When Junior throws an old book in his classroom and accidentally hits his teacher’s face, Junior is unexpectedly launched into a complicated task. Can he keep one foot at home in Wellpinit and another in Reardan, an affluent and racist white community with a high school where the only other “Indian” is the school mascot?
Diary seriously tackles complex topics—poverty, racism, alcoholism, grief, love, and identity—in a masterfully humorous style. From one diary entry to the next, readers will find themselves uplifted by Junior’s delightful coming-of-age story and his quest for hope.
6 thoughts on “A coming-of-age quest for hope — THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN reviewed”
Sounds like a very humorous book that also deals with racism issues, can’t wait to read this one!
It’s one of my all-time favourite books!
I remember picking it up in my eight grade classroom, it definitely is a book dealing with racism.
This was one of the literature books from my English class last semester.
Did you like it, Kim? I was thinking of reading it…
I kept seeing this book at the school library and I’d recognized it but wasn’t so sure if the would interest me but now I’m adding this to my already very long TBR shelf and I’ll be sure to check it out. It seems interesting enough and I hope I like it!