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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I first heard about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian on YouTube in 2016. While I knew that it was a young adult novel and I haven’t read much YA since I was 15 in 2007, I thought I would try reading it because it is about a First Nations boy, and I am very interested in books on the subject of First Nations.
I decided to read it now, partly to get it off of my Want to Read shelf before I get any older and farther from the stage of life in which I would have enjoyed it. I assumed it was probably going to be a juvenile book (because it’s YA).
I was right. The language and themes and metaphors are all very simple. This is a thought-provoking book for a middle school classroom to read together, but for a 27-year-old woman, it’s less poignant.
My rating is based on my enjoyment. I don’t rate children’s books, but I do rate YA. I also know that the author (who is also married) was accused of multiple counts of sexual assault in 2018, so if that impacts your enjoyment of a novel, be aware.
I decided to read it now, partly to get it off of my Want to Read shelf before I get any older and farther from the stage of life in which I would have enjoyed it. I assumed it was probably going to be a juvenile book (because it’s YA).
I was right. The language and themes and metaphors are all very simple. This is a thought-provoking book for a middle school classroom to read together, but for a 27-year-old woman, it’s less poignant.
My rating is based on my enjoyment. I don’t rate children’s books, but I do rate YA. I also know that the author (who is also married) was accused of multiple counts of sexual assault in 2018, so if that impacts your enjoyment of a novel, be aware.
I devoured this book and sobbed. It reminded me of other brilliantly witty stories about teenage weirdos — “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 and 3/4” especially, but also cult classics “Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Catcher in the Rye” (even though I detest those last two books, sorry everybody.) But Junior’s struggles feel both crushingly real and unbelievably difficult, struggles of poverty and racism and identity as well as zits and angst and teenagery. I can’t believe my high school English teacher didn’t assign us this book and I am going to force my kids to read it when they are in high school.
A quick read (couple hours), somewhat amusing, intended I think for tweens and teens
medium-paced
Had to read a book from a "banned books" list for the Yeti Challenge. This was a good one. Got T a copy for Christmas.
This book does three things very well: voice, honesty, and relevance.
I could say I was hooked by the second page, but more than that, I had already begun to care about Arnold Spirit Jr., a Native American teenager living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Nutshell summary: Junior decides to leave his school on the reservation to attend a 'white school' in the neighbouring town, which creates feelings of betrayal within his community. Junior must fight to overcome rejection and discouragement if he is to bridge the two worlds.
It's preachy, which is never a good adjective, but somehow this book pulls it off — preachy done well.
Alexie has an important message for Native Americans and settler Americans, and he demonstrates a certain morale objectivity in crafting this perspective. What? I mean, through Junior's character, Alexie calls out all the worst parts about life on a poor reservation, like the alcoholism, violence, and substandard schooling, but he also praises all the love and playful eccentricities within his community. Likewise with his portrayal of segregation and blatant racism at the white school, there is a touch of understanding, like an acknowledgement that, behind prejudice, there is more ignorance than hate.
In both of these subtextual critiques, there is constant feeling of hope. And possibly the source of this hope is Junior's tragic honesty when it comes to alcoholism, poverty, racism, sex, masturbation, and the ongoing injustices of colonization. That sounds a bit academic, so it's something of a feat that Alexie has also created a fantastically likeable character and a potently emotional story.
Random interesting story about this book —
Absolutely True Diary was banned by the school district in Meridian, Idaho, which resulted in a bunch of students signing a petition to have it returned to the library. And not banned for what you might expect: they said it was anti-Christian and included graphic sexual content. Yes, Junior does mention that he loves to masturbate. That's about as graphic as it gets.
"If God hadn't wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn't have given us thumbs."
Anyway, with the help of the publisher and other donations, a local bookstore gave away 700 copies of the book, with one copy going to each of the students who had signed the petition. More recently, a high school student went to a public park and handed out an additional 350 copies. And some troglodyte parent called the cops! But fortunately the cops had a look and decided there was nothing criminal in giving away books. The teenager (Brady Kissel) is planning a second giveaway (as of late April, 2014).
I could say I was hooked by the second page, but more than that, I had already begun to care about Arnold Spirit Jr., a Native American teenager living on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Nutshell summary: Junior decides to leave his school on the reservation to attend a 'white school' in the neighbouring town, which creates feelings of betrayal within his community. Junior must fight to overcome rejection and discouragement if he is to bridge the two worlds.
It's preachy, which is never a good adjective, but somehow this book pulls it off — preachy done well.
Alexie has an important message for Native Americans and settler Americans, and he demonstrates a certain morale objectivity in crafting this perspective. What? I mean, through Junior's character, Alexie calls out all the worst parts about life on a poor reservation, like the alcoholism, violence, and substandard schooling, but he also praises all the love and playful eccentricities within his community. Likewise with his portrayal of segregation and blatant racism at the white school, there is a touch of understanding, like an acknowledgement that, behind prejudice, there is more ignorance than hate.
In both of these subtextual critiques, there is constant feeling of hope. And possibly the source of this hope is Junior's tragic honesty when it comes to alcoholism, poverty, racism, sex, masturbation, and the ongoing injustices of colonization. That sounds a bit academic, so it's something of a feat that Alexie has also created a fantastically likeable character and a potently emotional story.
Random interesting story about this book —
Absolutely True Diary was banned by the school district in Meridian, Idaho, which resulted in a bunch of students signing a petition to have it returned to the library. And not banned for what you might expect: they said it was anti-Christian and included graphic sexual content. Yes, Junior does mention that he loves to masturbate. That's about as graphic as it gets.
"If God hadn't wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn't have given us thumbs."
Anyway, with the help of the publisher and other donations, a local bookstore gave away 700 copies of the book, with one copy going to each of the students who had signed the petition. More recently, a high school student went to a public park and handed out an additional 350 copies. And some troglodyte parent called the cops! But fortunately the cops had a look and decided there was nothing criminal in giving away books. The teenager (Brady Kissel) is planning a second giveaway (as of late April, 2014).
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes