Junior is a 14 year old boy living on the Spokane Indian Reservation with his parents and mostly absent older sister. His best and only friend, Rowdy, is the toughest kid on the reservation. Junior, however, is not tough. He is skinny, with thick black glasses, and was born with water on the brain and is a recovering epileptic. Did I mention that he also stutters?
The book, illustrated by Ellen Forney, contains Junior's drawings of the people and events in his life. Junior feels that he communicates best through his cartoons.
The author paints a realistic picture of reservation life. It is a wasteland of untapped potential. The people are poor and think that they deserve to be poor because they are Indians. There is rampant poverty, alcoholism, abuse, and little hope.
Junior is smart. At the urging of his reservation school teacher and with the support of his parents, Junior knows that in order to receive a good education and have a fair shake at life, he must leave the reservation. And so he does.
Junior enrolls at Reardan High School, the affluent school where he is the only Indian. Reardan is "exactly twenty-two miles away from the rez" (pg. 45). Sometimes he has to walk the entire way.
But Junior has to deal with the fallout of leaving the reservation for something better. His best friend and community turn on him. Junior's family experiences hardship and loss. Junior feels trapped between two worlds: the one in which he lives and the one that gives him hope to make something of himself.
The book is so, so funny but achingly sad too. Heartbreaking. You truly feel Junior's shame at being so poor and his fear of what his new Reardan friends will think if they find out. The senseless deaths that occur within Junior's circle of loved ones are difficult to manage as a reader.
You also feel triumph at Junior's successes and his resiliency and optimism is inspiring.
This is a book about identity, hope and fighting back. This novel is realistic because it was written by a man who left the reservation in order to become more than what his community thought he could or should become.
I would say this book is about 9th/10th grade appropriate. There is profanity, racism, homophobia, and references to sex.
There are some great things you can do with this book in regards to exceeding expectations and finding hope. Junior and his family suffer several losses in a short amount of time. In order to manage his grief, Junior makes lists of things that bring him hope or make him happy.
Some texts or films of "hope" you could further explore while reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian would be:
"I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It's a Wonderful Life film by Frank Capra
Students, in the whole group setting or small groups, can use these to make their own hope lists.
Your description of this book is awesome! I think that many of our Native Americans go through many similar experiences as junior. Leaving the reservation in order to do better for yourself is difficult, because you are having to leave behind all that you know. I can't remember the name, but when I was working on my undergrad, a Cameron professor brought in a Native American speaker who had the same experiences as Junior. He discussed why it is so difficult for Native Americans to get off the reservation and create opportunities for themselves. It was really enlightening! Bringing in guest speakers might also be an option.
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