the absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian
By: Sherman Alexie
Overview:
This book is about fourteen year old Junior, who's growing up in a Spokane Indian reservation with his parents and older sister. Within the reservation he is bullied by all and feels out of place due to multiple physical disabilities. As a result of this as well as the education he was receiving on the res, he ultimately decides to leave and attend a farm town high school in the same city. There the campus is made up of all white kids, and Junior once again feels out of place. But he soon befriends Gordy the school geek and Penelope, the popular girl who struggles with bulimia. As the school year progresses, his life at the res becomes more complex, with him loosing his best friend Rowdy as a result of attending "white kid school" and the death of his grandmother as well as a close family friend. However at his school he makes the varsity basketball team, and is faced with the challenge to beat his old school. In the end, he looses the game which is followed by the tragic death of his sister. As the book comes to a close, Junior reconnects with rowdy, and he tells Junior that he accepts his dreams and wants him to achieve them. |