September 2007
A Good Read
A Seattle middle-schooler reviews Seattle writer
Sherman Alexis’ first book written for teens
The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexis
Art by Ellen Forney
Pub date Sept 2007
The book is based on Alexie’s own experiences growing up on a Spokane Indian Reservation. The boy called “Junior” is the son of two poor people who came from poor people and so on. The life Junior is to live has already been picked out for him and he has no hope of changing it around. He was born with “water on the brain”, forever making him a target for bullies on the “rez”. Entering ninth grade, he receives the encouragement of a regretful teacher and he decides to get off the reservation to look for hope. It comes in the form of an all-white school 20 miles away, called Reardan. With his decision to switch schools he angers the whole tribe and loses his best friend.
After a hard fight to win the respect of the “king” of Reardan and securing the love of the “queen”, he is happy, although a little self conscious. Then it’s basketball season and Junior (or his Reardan name Arnold) is on the varsity basketball team. The first game he plays is against his old school on the rez, and his ex-best friend is the star player. By the end of the game Junior needs stitches and has a concussion! Throughout the story Junior is dealing with the deaths of family and friends, all caused by alcohol. He finds differences in himself and the white people he now calls friends.
I won’t say any more, for fear of giving away the whole book, but Sherman Alexie wastes no time in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian with flowery sentences or detailed scenery. The story is written with a raw frankness and humor that most teenagers can relate to. I love a story that makes me laugh constantly, but brings me to tears the next sentence. This book was very successful at doing that.
The story gave me a perspective on growing up Native American that I have never had before. I’ve heard about tepees and berry picking, and names like Whispering Wolf and magical stories of how the sun came to be. This book brings me to a modern day reality, of alcohol and death. I would not recommend it to kids younger then 13 but to anyone older than that it is a story that involves laughter, hunger, death and friendship and you should definitely read it.
Lily Rorick is 13 years old
and attends Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences in Seattle.
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