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Reviews tagging 'Death'
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
87 reviews
betweentheshelves's review
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I haven't read this since I read it for one of my college classes almost 10 years ago (what??). Definitely a character driven story, one that still isn't really told in YA literature. Junior definitely has the voice of a 14 year old boy, and this novel isn't afraid to shy away from the difficult issues.
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Junior is a 14 year old boy living on the Spokane Indian reservation. Because he has had brain issues since he was a little boy, he has been made fun of on the reservation for almost his entire life. On the recommendation of one of his teachers, he decides to go to the all white public high school located just off of the reservation, because he wants to get a better education. The book chronicles his first year of high school, and because he is a cartoonist, is told through illustrations and words.
This is a book that has been on my to-read list for a while, ever since one of my librarians from high school read it and highly recommended it to me. I would say that I had pretty high expectations going into the book, and in finishing it, my expectations were met. My favorite aspect of the book was Junior's voice. To me, it was very authentic; it definitely seemed like a teenager was telling the story. The illustrations also enhanced my reading experience. It helped to give a better picture of the characters and what was going on in the novel, and also enhanced the humor aspect of the story. The illustrations also make the novel a quick read. There wasn't really anything that I could find that turned me away from the novel.
From a teacher's perspective, this book would definitely be good for early high school boys, because it is a hybrid novel, and Junior deals with issues that a lot of boys entering high schools deal with. Since this book does deal with a lot of controversial issues, like alcoholism, masturbation, poverty, and bullying, censorship is an issue with this book, and teacher's should be wary of that if it is to be used in the classroom. That being said, I think pairing this book with a unit on American Indians in the classroom would work very well, especially since a lot of students don't know what it really is like to be an American Indian.
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Junior is a 14 year old boy living on the Spokane Indian reservation. Because he has had brain issues since he was a little boy, he has been made fun of on the reservation for almost his entire life. On the recommendation of one of his teachers, he decides to go to the all white public high school located just off of the reservation, because he wants to get a better education. The book chronicles his first year of high school, and because he is a cartoonist, is told through illustrations and words.
This is a book that has been on my to-read list for a while, ever since one of my librarians from high school read it and highly recommended it to me. I would say that I had pretty high expectations going into the book, and in finishing it, my expectations were met. My favorite aspect of the book was Junior's voice. To me, it was very authentic; it definitely seemed like a teenager was telling the story. The illustrations also enhanced my reading experience. It helped to give a better picture of the characters and what was going on in the novel, and also enhanced the humor aspect of the story. The illustrations also make the novel a quick read. There wasn't really anything that I could find that turned me away from the novel.
From a teacher's perspective, this book would definitely be good for early high school boys, because it is a hybrid novel, and Junior deals with issues that a lot of boys entering high schools deal with. Since this book does deal with a lot of controversial issues, like alcoholism, masturbation, poverty, and bullying, censorship is an issue with this book, and teacher's should be wary of that if it is to be used in the classroom. That being said, I think pairing this book with a unit on American Indians in the classroom would work very well, especially since a lot of students don't know what it really is like to be an American Indian.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Vomit
megplant's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
stinkysnail's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, and Suicide
dustyloup's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5/3.75
On a superficial level this book was charming. The illustrations were especially well done and it reminds me of diary of a wimpy kid for an older audience. I think that a young person who doesn't feel like s/he fits in would relate to junior's struggles, especially anyone from a dual culture situation.
That being said, to me it seems quite obvious that this is based on Alexie's experiences as someone born in '66, not someone born in the early 1990s like junior. Or some sort of generational mish mash between the two. I think that especially with social media, pride in being native American has increased and just the way kids relate to reach other has changed when since the early 2000s when this was published.
I think it's too bad that the book focuses so much on negative stereotypes of NA/first nations people, but when you're a teen it's pretty normal to focus on the negative.
On a superficial level this book was charming. The illustrations were especially well done and it reminds me of diary of a wimpy kid for an older audience. I think that a young person who doesn't feel like s/he fits in would relate to junior's struggles, especially anyone from a dual culture situation.
That being said, to me it seems quite obvious that this is based on Alexie's experiences as someone born in '66, not someone born in the early 1990s like junior. Or some sort of generational mish mash between the two. I think that especially with social media, pride in being native American has increased and just the way kids relate to reach other has changed when since the early 2000s when this was published.
I think it's too bad that the book focuses so much on negative stereotypes of NA/first nations people, but when you're a teen it's pretty normal to focus on the negative.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Racism, and Sexual content
soppysays's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
karingforbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My biggest hiccup was the length/: too short. And while I liked how fast it read, it also felt like it left out huge important chunks or summarized them in a sentence. That said, this was great. I loved the cartoons and there were so many great lines! It shows life on the reservation for a large majority of native Americans in the States (so long as you realize geography and culture differs) and makes it accessible. It dove into identity and love and race.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Hate crime, and Racism
allthingsnerdy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I appreciate this book for trying to authentically show the experience of American Indian people, at least from Sherman Alexie's perspective. It's both heart breaking and hopeful, and doesn't go easy on the white people or American Indian people in the story. It's the kind of book I wish I read in school, as a coming of age story that tries to capture what it's like to be a high school student that really doesn't fit in. I'd certainly take this over Catcher in the Rye.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Racism