The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman, A. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part time indian.  New York, NY.  Little Brown and Company.

In this modern realistic fiction novel, Junior, also known as Arnold decides to leave his Spokane Indian reservation school to go to one of the best small schools in the state, Reardan, which is 22 miles away. He knows he will have a better chance of having a hopeful future and leaving the reservation if he does this.  This decision comes at a cost as he has to leave a best friend, be labeled a "traitor" by his entire community, and deal with the struggle of fitting in at a new and very different school.  Arnold also deals with more serious issues including his own health issues, family financial issues,  physical abuse (of his best friend), alcohol abuse (his Dad), racism and the death of friends and close family.  Despite many obstacles, he never seems to give up on life and doing the best that he can.

This story is a a great read for anyone dealing with similar issues and boys in particular. It's coming of age story for boys that is written with a lot of humor, matching cartoon pictures, and very straight forward content.  Sherman Alexie doesn't "beat around the bush". In fact he is so blunt about his writing that it sometimes surprises me. I feel this is the way boys think sometimes and would probably be drawn to this book because there isn't a lot of "fluff" or integrate or unnecessary writing.   It is written very much the same that boys write and think. It's an honest story that deals with so many real young adult issues including the five developmental areas- physical, social, emotional, intellectual and moral.  This is a great read for all but I would put at the top of my list for young adult males.