“Traveling between Reardan and Wellpinit, between the little white town and the reservation, I always felt like a stranger. I was half Indian in one place and half white in the other. It was like being Indian was my job, but it was only a part-time job. And it didn’t pay well at all.” (p. 118)
Alexie, Sherman. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company. 2007.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Review:
After receiving a history book that had his mother’s maiden name on it, Junior gets fed up with the school on his reservation. Following a talk with his teacher, he decides that his only hope of having a future is to attend Readan, a white school in town. This decision causes his best friend to be mad at him, the others on the reservation to think of him as a traitor, and his sister to reconsider her lifestyle. As he struggles with fitting in at Reardon and with his precarious position of being suspended between two different worlds, Junior discovers some home truths about himself and those around him.
This great novel explores many different themes and readers will be able to identify with Junior’s search for identity. The story is told with humor and insight and the drawings add to the impact of the narration. The fact that it is based on the author’s own life gives it a genuineness that readers will appreciate. This book is recommended for all readers, but especially reluctant ones.