The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian
[a Novel]
Book - 2008
1410404994


Opinion
From Library Staff
Challenged for being anti-family, for cultural insensitivity, references to drugs, alcohol, smoking, gambling and sex education, and for its sexual explicitness, and being unsuited for age group.
Reasons: banned and challenged for sexual references, profanity, violence, gambling, and underage drinking, and for its religious viewpoint.
A must-read YA story, especially for those of us who work with FNMI teens.
From the critics

Community Activity
Age Suitability
Add Age Suitability
ArapahoeAlly thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 13 and 18
blue_turtle_1952 thinks this title is suitable for 14 years and over
cooliothebest thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 12 and 20
Quotes
Add a Quote“Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.” - Sherman Alexie

If you let people into your life a little, they can be pretty damned amazing.
"If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing." - Arnold Spirit Jr.
"I can do it," I said to Coach, to my teammates, to the world.
"You can do it," Coach said.
"I can do it."
...
'Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? [...] How amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It's one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they're the hugest words in the world when they're put together. You can do it. I can do it. Let's do it.'
pg. 13 "Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverence. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor."
pg. 97 "The world, even the smallest parts of it, is filled with things you don't know."
pg. 107 "There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away."
pg. 129 "If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing."
When anybody, no matter how old they are, loses a parent, I think it hurts the same as if you were only five years old, you know? I think all of us are always five years old in the presence and absence of our parents.

When anybody, no matter how old they are, loses a parent, I think it hurts the same as if you were only five years old, you know? I think all of us are always five years old in the presence and absence of our parents.
Summary
Add a SummaryA boy from the Spokane Indian reservation enrolls in a white school, despite the hate and betrayal the rest of his tribe feels.
Arnold is a boy who lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He has several problems like ‘born with water on the brain’ (he has a big head), he has a poor eyesight, seizures and lips and stutters. This is the reason he is regularly beaten up and calling names like ‘retard’ (for the brain damage) and ‘globe’ (because of his large head). He is very poor and he only has two friends, his dog – Oscar - and Rowdy (a boy who also live on the reservation). When Oscar gets sick his father kills him and now his only friend is Rowdy.
Rowdy has problems on its own. His father abuses him and his mother. He is the only one who wants to protect Arnold (who often is called Junior) from his bullies and physical abuse. On the first high school day Arnold found out that his textbook was used by his mother – so it was approximately fifty-five years old. He knows that alcohol (and because of that almost everyone is poor) is more important to most residents than an education is. Junior decides to transfer from his reservation school to Reardan High, a white school that is more than twenty miles away. All of the ‘white’ kids are rich and have enough money to buy everything they want. Once he arrives, Junior finds that he is the only Indian (besides the school’s mascot) there. He get to know a popular white girl, Penelope, and a very smart boy, Gordy. His best friend on the reservation, Rowdy, stays behind and vows never to speak to Junior—the “traitor”—again. Junior also knows that everyone else on the reservation thinks he is an “apple”: red on the outside but white on the inside. Meanwhile, most of the students at Reardan treat Junior as an outcast as well. Although he is stimulated by the intellectual challenges of Reardan’s advanced curriculum, Junior must fight to improve his social standing both on and off the reservation. He accomplishes this accidentally when he goes out for Reardan’s basketball team. He surprises himself when, as a freshman, he makes the varsity team and eventually even becomes a starting player. Junior’s biggest challenge comes when he must play against his former basketball team from the reservation, whose star player is none other than Junior’s ex–best friend, Rowdy. On the first match Wellpinit wins after Rowdy cheats on Junior. But in the second game Junior is the hero of the day.
High school student on the Rez decides to buck tradition and attend the best high school in the region, 22 miles away and almost all White. Funny cartoons. Matter-of-fact.
"the absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian" by Sherman Alexie is about a boy named junior who was raised on a reservation and was always made fun of. But when the chance comes to change to a school where he can actually achieve something and do something he has to choose,wether to be called a traitor by everybody he knows or tries to show the Rez that he is willing to push everything aside to prove that there is more to life than drinking.
I have finished a book called "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie a realistic fiction novel. In this book it is about a Indian boy who is lving on a small rezervation or rez and he has a best friend name Rowdy. They both go to school on the rezervation name Wellpinit. Arnold Spirit a fouteen year old teenager and the protagonist is a book kisser what this mean is that he like to read and write. When he had gone to school , during geometry class Mr.P his teacher had passed out textbooks. When Arnold relizes that he got his mothers textbook that was at least thirty years old he threw it at Mr.P in the face. Then Mr.P came over to his house to talk to him about what he had done. When Mr.P said something like, if you don't leave this rezervation then you will die. Another thing he said was something like if you are the only one who hasn't gave up, every one has gave up even the teachers at his school had gave up even his parents had gave up even his best friend Rowdy had gave up. He also wanted the world to know that he is important. What will happen next?
Sherman Alexie’s dark comedy offers up insight about respect, identity and acceptance in unadorned, briskly paced language that will appeal to many teens. Junior Spirit is a Spokane Indian eager to begin high school on his reservation. His hopes of newfound knowledge and opportunities are dashed when he is assigned the same textbook that belonged to his uneducated, impoverished mother thirty years earlier, bringing on a sense of fatalism and despair. Urged by his teacher to respect his dreams and demand more from life than can be expected on the reservation, Junior bravely gathers his dignity and stands up for himself by transferring to a school in a distant town. So begins his search for identity and his place in the world, as “Junior Spirit”, traitor to his people, is ostracized on the rez for consorting with whites, while “Arnold Spirit Junior”, alone, navigates the racism and mystifying cultural rules of an all-white school. “Absolutely True Diary” could easily become a litany of anger, pain and hopelessness; the poverty, alcoholism, violence and incredible death rate chronicled in the novel seems insurmountable. Yet for every tragic event, there is a detail to give us hope or even a laugh, and even the most debauched characters receive understanding and a chance at redemption. Arnold’s cartoon sketches of the people around him, drawn by artist Ellen Forney, amuse and meld seamlessly with the tone of the text. Arnold’s spirit, however, is the most compelling aspect of the book, and his relentless determination to succeed in escaping the fate of his tribe lingers with the reader, making him one of the most inspiring characters in young adult fiction today. Arnold’s quest for a better life proves that acceptance is won by earning respect, and the first step in gaining the respect of others is respecting yourself
Sherman Alexie’s dark comedy offers up insight about respect, identity and acceptance in unadorned, briskly paced language that will appeal to many teens. Junior Spirit is a Spokane Indian eager to begin high school on his reservation. His hopes of newfound knowledge and opportunities are dashed when he is assigned the same textbook that belonged to his uneducated, impoverished mother thirty years earlier, bringing on a sense of fatalism and despair. Urged by his teacher to respect his dreams and demand more from life than can be expected on the reservation, Junior bravely gathers his dignity and stands up for himself by transferring to a school in a distant town. So begins his search for identity and his place in the world, as “Junior Spirit”, traitor to his people, is ostracized on the rez for consorting with whites, while “Arnold Spirit Junior”, alone, navigates the racism and mystifying cultural rules of an all-white school.
“Absolutely True Diary” could easily become a litany of anger, pain and hopelessness; the poverty, alcoholism, violence and incredible death rate chronicled in the novel seems insurmountable. Yet for every tragic event, there is a detail to give us hope or even a laugh, and even the most debauched characters receive understanding and a chance at redemption. Arnold’s cartoon sketches of the people around him, drawn by artist Ellen Forney, amuse and meld seamlessly with the tone of the text.
Arnold’s spirit, however, is the most compelling aspect of the book, and his relentless determination to succeed in escaping the fate of his tribe lingers with the reader, making him one of the most inspiring characters in young adult fiction today. Arnold’s quest for a better life proves that acceptance is won by earning respect, and the first step in gaining the respect of others is respecting yourself.

Arnold Spirit is 14 when he makes the life-altering decision to transfer to a school off the Spokane Indian Reservation. The only other Indian at his new school is the mascot.
When Junior announces that he wants to attend the white school off the reservation he is not only ostracized, but tormented by his own people. As he dips one foot into the strange world of white people and keeps the other firmly planted on the reservation he feels torn between the better life he glimpses at his new school and the life he has always known.
This novel is simultaneously hopeful and hopeless. Junior is one boy out of an entire reservation who is able to break the pattern that has so firmly gripped his family and friends. At the same time, the reader meets all those who Junior loves and loses. Those who don’t break the cycle, and the reader can see why Junior says “Indians have LOST EVERYTHING. We lost our native land, we lost our languages, we lost our songs and dances. We lost each other. We only know how to lose and be lost.”
In the end, Junior receives his best friend Rowdy’s blessing which he needs to head out into the world, but both know it will be a bitter-sweet departure. Alexie brilliantly portrays the whites whom Junior meets as having problems that might be different from his, but are problems none-the-less. A must-read for both teens and adults.
Notices
Add NoticesSexual Content: The most prominent situation is a 16 year old boy talking about how he loves masturbation, but there's a lot more sexual references sprinkled throughout the book.

Comment
Add a CommentI read this book to fulfil the goal read a book by an Indigenous author The United Nations definition: Indigenous communities, peoples, and nations are those that, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, To be honest, this book caused a conflict of emotions within me. I didn't particularly enjoy it from an entertainment standpoint, but i did live on the reservation for awhile. So i could recognize the accuracy of the writing and the hopelessness that attends the people who live there and other poor neighborhoods even off the reservation.
This was quite an amazing read. Arnold 'Junior' Spirit begins life with huge challenges and so must learn early how to handle himself. He is part of a close community on the Wellpinit Reserve in Washington State, and all around him he sees no hope. Prodded by a teacher, he decides to transfer to a white school twenty-two miles away off the reservation, and the story proceeds. All the issues we read about - drugs, alcohol, poverty, hopelessness - are covered here, but with Arnold's unbelievable hope and courage and positivity and tolerance and love we don't feel discouraged at the end. He sees a path for change and tries to show it to those he loves, and he doesn't give up.
Though this book may seem graphic, it really does give a glimpse into a Native American community and the struggle to hope. It's very real.
Life on the Spokane Indian Reservation was tough for Junior, a teenage Indian boy. He lived in poverty, had alcoholic parents, bullied by his community and even his best friend was not nice to him. Mr. P, a white teacher, encouraged him to attend an all white high school, Reardon High, outside the reservation where he could get a better education. His parents were supportive of the idea. Being the only Indian student in his new high school caused a lot of tension with the other kids until he punched out the strongest, most popular kid in the school. To his surprise, the other kids accepted him after that.
I genuinely liked this book. It talks about living in poverty, how it feels being the odd one out, and it sheds light on racism. Living in poverty was tough, but the journey to try and work hard to get out of poverty proved to be even tougher for Junior. He was ashamed of being poor so he tried to hide it from his white friends. When he finally had to confess that he was poor, his true friends stood by him. That was a huge lesson he learned that true friendship is not based on whether you are rich or poor. True friendship is loyalty and a bond with the other person. As a teenager, the worst feeling is being the odd one out.
This book also touches on the subject of racism. Junior’s girlfriend was a white blonde hair girl and that her father did not approve of him simply because he was Indian. In one scenario, Junior was admiring his girlfriend playing volleyball wearing a white T-shirt with white shorts, against her light skin color and blonde hair. It seems as though the author used this scene to challenge the reader to think deeper into the issue of racism. Is her father the racist for disliking him for his darker skin color or is Junior a racist for admiring his girlfriend's lighter skin color? The only downside of this book is that it was unnecessarily sexualized. I feel the author used sexuality just to be “cool” for the teen audience. Aside from that, this book is a great read for those interested in a genuine teenage experience.
This book is pornographic. It is completely inappropriate and should be removed from the library.
The basic premise could go places but the writing is horrendous.
The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian gives a new perspective on Native Americans and their lives. A 14 year old native teen named Arnold is its hilarious narrator who walks the story through his journey at the reserve, and moving to a “white” town. At some points this book does include mature language, and some may be offended by the words “Indian” and “white” used but overall it gives a whole new perspective of the difficult lives of Native Americans. The story quickly plays with your emotions because it is constantly jumping from sad themes, then to humour, and then some more sadness. To summarize, The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian is an eye-opening book that is hilarious and a fun read! 4/5
@UniquePerspective of the Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board
This book had me laughing all the way from the start! I could not put it down. The story was also inspiring and gave me a deeper insight into other peoples' lives. Highly recommended!
A really fun book to read, I never got bored while reading and it had a great message. There is some bad language but it makes it more lighthearted so the book doesn't get too serious; would 100% recommend to anyone looking for a nice quick read.
I was looking through available eBooks in our library catalog, and decided it was finally time to read this book. I recommend it a lot to teens because the format, cartooning, and writing style has made it beloved by many young readers.
I have to admit I was very impressed that Alexie could make such serious content humorous. Arnold/Junior does not have an easy life, yet he approaches each new situation with courage, wit, and resilience. There were times when I was both cringing and laughing simultaneously - an odd feeling indeed.
Arnold/Junior makes a very difficult decision to leave the "rez" to attend a "white" school in a neighboring town. At first he is shunned by both the Indians he left behind, and the kids at his new school who view him as an outsider, but gradually he starts to gain acceptance from his new peers. In a lot of ways this book was very illuminating regarding life on a "rez," and reveals some of the challenges that many Native American tribes face today. Arnold/Junior is very realistic about his situation, discussing in particular the difficulties of poverty and alcoholism in his family, but I never once got the impression that he felt unloved or unsupported by his family members (which is rare in a book that features alcoholic parents). Arnold/Junior knew he wanted a different situation for himself, thus branching outside the rez, but he never forgot where he came from and he still held out hope until the very end for reconciliation with his tribe. I would imagine this book has been very inspiring for people in similar situations - those who are afraid to break the mold and step into the unknown. Arnold/Junior shows that it's not easy, but it is possible, and sometimes the results can be positive in ways you do not expect.
This was a fantastic story from a very interesting perspective. Its message is very effective and powerful, illustrating the harm that results from stereotyping and the struggles that poverty causes. The diary is written in a lighthearted and humorous way, which I appreciate because it would be very easy to make the same story depressing and tragic without the comic relief. Junior was relatable and very funny, overall a great narrator. His journey was exciting and meaningful, as he proves himself to both his tribe and his new school. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a great read. The pace is concise but detailed, the tone is serious yet playful, and the theme is powerful and relevant to every student's life. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys entertaining shenanigans and adventures. Rating: 5/5
@outdoorsman14 of The Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board
Hello everyone, this is the tiny astronaut again. Today I am going to share my reflection of the book "The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian”.
The story tells about an Indian boy named Ronald Spirit Junior who lives in the reservation and wanted to go outside of the Rez to have his dreams achieved. First of all, the personality of Arnold and his family are very hard to understand, I think that this is because of the influence of all the other people who also lived in the Rez. Even though the government had given the Rez money and support, people are still poor. According to the book, when Arnold decided to go to the school of Reardan his dad doesn't even have enough gas to drive Arnold to school!
The other thing is that there is hardly anyone who doesn't drink alcohol in the Rez. Well, alcohol can sometimes release your pain since most of the people in the Rez are in pain. However, people die easily because of alcohol. Without any exaggeration, perhaps yesterday you just made a good friend and today he's crushed by a car. Arnold was just a high school student and he has already been to 53 funerals! That is insane. If I were the protagonist and I had been through 53 funerals I think I'm just going to collapse.
This is a sad story but with a warm ending: Arnold is friends with Rowdy again; All Arnold's friends in Reardan have a good fortune etc. Also, the theme of this book is good and obvious: never give up, there is always hope. Star Rating: 3/5
@tiny_astronaut of The Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board