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

"Arnold Spirit, Jr, or "Junior" as he's known on the Rez, does something no Spokane Indian has ever done. He enrolls in Reardon High School and begins the long and often painful process off navigating not only high school and adolescence but also being an outsider. Alexie handles it all with grace, humor and honesty. This was a great read. I would recommend it to anyone."

5 Stars

Pros: Alexie handles the ups and downs of not only adolescence, but tragedy and loss in a stark, honest but gut wrenchingly relatable way.

Cons: Some of Junior's all-consuming guilt, though understandable was a little repetitive but it's all part of being a teenager.

Full Review:

It all starts when Arnold Spirit Jr, or Junior, throws a textbook across the classroom. When he opened the book he saw his mother's name, her maiden name and it enrages him. He's furious that the reservation is so poor that they're learning from thirty-year old textbooks. He doesn't mean to actually hit anything, he was aiming for the wall but unfortunately, the book hits the teacher and breaks his nose.

While serving his weeklong suspension, the teacher finds him and instead of being angry, he pleads with Junior to find a way off the reservation. He sees promise in Junior and he knows that if he stays on the Rez, he'll end up like all the rest of the Spokane, drunk, abusive and angry. So, Junior decides to do as his teacher suggests and enrolls in Reardon High School, a small farm town 22 miles away.

He becomes an instant pariah to the Rez and none of the students at Reardon, a predominantly white town, know how to treat him either. He's constantly torn between actually enjoying his life, gaining friends at school but losing friends on the Rez. And though Junior is already pretty mature for a teenager, there are a lot of painful, terrible lessons that life is going to throw his way.

Alexie handles all of it with grace, humor and a beautiful genuineness that had me laughing and tearing up in equal measure. This was truly an incredible book and I'm so glad I read it. It did not disappoint.

Comments

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