A
lexie, Sh
erman. Absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. Illustrated by Ellen Forney. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN 0316013684.- Reader’s Annotation: Junior doesn’t have much going for him except his drawings and his best friend Rowdy. And when he switches from the reservation school to Reardan, the local all-white high school, he even loses Rowdy. Can Junior balance his identity as a member of the Spokane Indian tribe with his new life at Reardan?
- Plot Summary: Arnold Spirit, known as Junior, is a gawky fourteen-year-old growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. He’s had plenty of hard knocks already in his short life: he’s poor; he was born with hydro-encephalitis and still has seizures as a result of the brain damage from it; he wears glasses; he’s skinny and dorky and short. He loves to draw cartoons, and he hopes his art might one day get him off the rez–until a teacher breaks it to him: He’s never getting off the rez. Not unless he saves himself, starting right now, by leaving the reservation school to get a decent education at the local high school. But if he does this, not only will he have to face being the only Indian student in the entire student body, he’ll also ostracize himself from his friends and family.
- Critical Evaluation: Funny, edgy, risky, and heart-breaking, this semi-autobiographical work is a coming-of-age story that readers won’t be able to put down. The book is also fleshed out by the pitch-perfect combination of Alexie’s writing and Ellen Forney’s black-and-white illustrations; the drawings fit so well readers will hardly be able to believe they aren’t really Junior’s work. Forney also skillfully blends the occasional realistically-rendered drawing in with the caricatures, lending a deeper sense not only of Junior’s character, but also his budding artistic promise.
- About the author: Much of Part-Time Indian is drawn from Alexie’s own life story: he grew up on the Spokane Reservation; he was born with hydro-encephalitis and doctors said he wouldn’t live. And like Junior, Alexie used a special talent–his writing–to overcome these difficulties and make a successful career for himself.
- Genre: Coming-of-age fiction; multicultural fiction
- Curriculum Ties: Art, Language Arts
- Booktalking Ideas:
- Age Level: Ages 12 and up
- Challenge Issues: language (including homophobic and racial slurs), sexual references (Junior mentions masturbation, erections, etc.)
- Reasons for Inclusion: Highly positive critical reception; deals with difficult issues in a humorous way that will especially appeal to boys and reluctant readers
1) Talk about Rowdy and Junior’s friendship
2) Focus on basketball and what it means to Junior
3) Talk about the relationships Junior develops at Reardan with Penelope, Gordy, Randy, etc.
Challenge defense ideas:
• Read or re-read the book and be familiar with the context of the questionable elements. Alexie uses strong language for good reasons, balancing the painful topics of alcoholism, grief, and racial inequality with Junior’s sometimes-racy humor, and adding realism to the characterizations of teenage boys.
• Consult the library’s collection development and challenged materials procedural policies for guidance
• Consult the ALA’s strategies for dealing with challenges to library materials for a helpful collection of information, advice, and links to other resources.
• Refer to the many starred reviews from professional journals such as School Library Journal, Horn Book, and Publisher’s Weekly, which can be viewed at TitleTales or at Amazon.com
• Point out the many awards and honors received, including the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature; SLJ’s Best Books of 2007; Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, etc.
• If possible, talk to tweens who have read the book and get reviews from them; a teen review from VOYA can be found at TitleTales
Meet in the Middle 