The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

My month of reading banned books continued on this week with another really great young adult title. I'm on a little bit of a roll here! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie has been banned in many school districts over the years for violence and sexual references. At the same time, it always pops up on "best of" book lists for young adults (as banned books tend to do), so I was excited to give it a try.


The story is about a teenage boy named Junior who lives on a Spokane Indian reservation. Junior, narrating in his own words, begins by explaining to the reader that he was born gravely ill.  He had too much water on his brain. He wasn't expected to survive the surgery he had to undergo to correct it, but he somehow pulled through without any major brain damage. However, he does have to deal with other health issues as a result of his illness. His vision is poor, his head looks oversized, he's all-round pretty gawky. He's an outsider in his tribe, but he does have a close friend in Rowdy, a kid with some pretty serious anger issues.

Life on the reservation isn't easy. Problems with alcohol, violence, and poverty run rampant within his community, but Junior is shown to be kindhearted and intelligent. He avoids trouble and proves to be a pretty good student. He is especially excited about starting a geometry class, because he is an artist and loves working with shapes.  However, when the textbooks for the class are distributed, Junior is disturbed to discover his own mother's name written in his book. It turns out to be the very same textbook she used when she was in high school on the reservation, meaning that it is over thirty years old.

Frustrated with always having the worst of everything, Junior snaps and throws his textbook across the room.  He accidentally smashes his teacher in the face with it, breaking his nose. This act sets off a series of changes in his life when his teacher, instead of being upset with Junior, encourages him to seek out a better life by transferring to a school outside of the reservation.

When Junior takes his advice and transfers to a nearly all-white high school, he becomes what he calls a "part-time Indian." Leaving the reservation, even just to go to school, is viewed as a traitorous act in his community. His only friend Rowdy is furious with him and stops speaking to him, which breaks Junior's heart. Similarly, he struggles to fit into his new school, where most of the white students can't get past his heritage. Caught between two worlds, Junior must try to make a better future for himself while maintaining his relationship with his people.

While the subject matter of Part-Time Indian is quite serious, Alexie's writing has humor and heart. The text is punctuated with Junior's cartoons, which add a welcome sense of levity to the story and provide additional insights into his feelings. This is a heavy story that doesn't feel very heavy, with well-written characters that worm your way into your heart. You want Junior to succeed while reading this. You really come to care about him.

The depiction of Native Americans and reservation life is a rarity in young adult literature, and I found it very interesting to learn more about this culture. The problems that plague Native Americans are well known--the alcoholism, gambling addictions, violence, and poverty that go on in these communities are common knowledge. What is not as well known are the people behind these problems. Alexie's depiction doesn't shy away from these issues at all, but he also shows the hopes, joys, and fears of the community; he shows the little everyday moments that you don't often hear about. He breathes life into a group of people that most of the world ignores and dismisses.

Part-Time Indian is a book that should most definitely have a place in schools, not just for it's well-drawn depiction of a little-known culture, but also for it's discussion of racism. Alexie doesn't spare the feelings of the white world in these pages, as Junior often comments on the ignorance and cruelty of whites. Alexie isn't shy to point out the hypocrisy and injustices that abound between Native Americans and white people. This is a discussion that should be had with students. We can only create a better world by understanding the feelings of other groups and examining our own actions and beliefs. To pretend that problems don't exist and that racism is a thing of the past is a misguided notion. Stories like this one can help open up discussions on difficult topics and help kids explore things from another point of view.

This novel is frequently challenged in schools on the grounds of violence and sexual references. Neither are particularly prevalent or extreme. It seems that the bane of young adult novels with male protagonists is any sort of discussion of masturbation or erections. As soon as either is mentioned, a book suddenly becomes inappropriate for kids (because, obviously, adolescents have no experience with either of these topics). Part-Time Indian has a couple mentions of both of those things, so it didn't stand a chance of staying in the libraries of the kids it was written for. It's a shame, because this book is so much more than a few sexual references.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was a National Book Award winner, and the honor was well-deserved. It is a funny novel about a serious topic, and one of the best coming of age stories I can remember. Its clever writing and lovable protagonist alone make it worth the read, but its cultural exploration and discussion of racism push it into the "important to read" category of young adult literature. This is a great one.