The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. 2007. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown. 0316013684, 9780316013680. Hard cover. $16.99.
Annotation:
Arnold Spirit, Jr. leaves the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. He finds success, but alienates his best friend and other members of his tribe.
Awards:
National Book Award for Young People's Literature
New York Times Notable Books, Children's Books, 2007
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards
Arnold Spirit, Jr. leaves the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. He finds success, but alienates his best friend and other members of his tribe.
Awards:
National Book Award for Young People's Literature
New York Times Notable Books, Children's Books, 2007
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards
School Library Journal Best Books, 2007
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Hi, I’m Arnold Spirit, Jr. and
I’m a poor-ass reservation kid living with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian Reservation.
I draw cartoons and I’m pretty good at it. I’d like to become a rich and famous cartoonist someday.
But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re just poor. That’s all we are.
I had just started high school (I admit, I like school and I was excited to start learning new things) when my teacher handed out our geometry textbooks and my copy had my mother’s name printed in it. That textbook was at least 30 years old! I was so angry and sad and horrified about what that textbook said about my tribe and our poverty that I took that book and hurled it! Too bad it hit my teacher, Mr. P and I got expelled.
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Hi, I’m Arnold Spirit, Jr. and
I’m a poor-ass reservation kid living with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian Reservation.
I draw cartoons and I’m pretty good at it. I’d like to become a rich and famous cartoonist someday.
But we reservation Indians don’t get to realize our dreams. We don’t get those chances. Or choices. We’re just poor. That’s all we are.
I had just started high school (I admit, I like school and I was excited to start learning new things) when my teacher handed out our geometry textbooks and my copy had my mother’s name printed in it. That textbook was at least 30 years old! I was so angry and sad and horrified about what that textbook said about my tribe and our poverty that I took that book and hurled it! Too bad it hit my teacher, Mr. P and I got expelled.
Can you believe Mr. P. came to my house and apologized to me? He said all this stuff about how in his many years of teaching he had participated in oppressing the Indian people. He told me that I was the smartest kid in the school and that I refuse to give up (which is true because I get beat up all the time, but I just keep picking myself back up) but all they ever teach you on the reservation is how to give up. Mr. P begged me to leave the reservation and go somewhere where people have hope. I mean he cried, it was crazy! It blew my mind!
After he left, I asked my parents “Who has the most hope?” and they said, “White people.”
So you know what I decided? To go to Reardon, the really good school in the white town 20 miles from the reservation.
The kids in Reardon are the smartest and most athletic kids anywhere. They are the best.
“You’ll be the first one to ever leave the rez this way,” Mom said. “The Indians around here are going to be angry with you.”
Even my best and only friend, Rowdy, punched me in the face when I told him I was going. And I’m afraid some of those huge jock boys at Reardon might kill me if they decide to pick a fight with the only Indian in school. But I’m going to do it. Because I want to become somebody. I want the world to pay attention to me and remember me. This is my story: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. My cartoons are in here. too, so take a look if you want.
So you know what I decided? To go to Reardon, the really good school in the white town 20 miles from the reservation.
The kids in Reardon are the smartest and most athletic kids anywhere. They are the best.
“You’ll be the first one to ever leave the rez this way,” Mom said. “The Indians around here are going to be angry with you.”
Even my best and only friend, Rowdy, punched me in the face when I told him I was going. And I’m afraid some of those huge jock boys at Reardon might kill me if they decide to pick a fight with the only Indian in school. But I’m going to do it. Because I want to become somebody. I want the world to pay attention to me and remember me. This is my story: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. My cartoons are in here. too, so take a look if you want.
Image from WorldCat.
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