McCombsNook: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By: Sherman Alexis

Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Summary:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian centers around 14 year old Junior's life. Junior narrates the entire story and details his awkwardness and physical deformities that get him ridiculed and looked down upon on a daily basis. Junior is a Spokane Indian and lives on the reservation with his family. During the first week of school Junior has a "vision" of leaving the reservation and taking his life into his own hands. Junior notices what his life would be if he stays on the reservation and decides he wants something different, better for himself. Junior leaves and transfers into an all white high school. Here he has to figure out how to identify with his new classmates and still maintain some of his heritage and deal with being ostracized for betraying his family and tribe. Juniors life is filled with ups and downs and he even loses 3 people close to him by the end of the novel.

Response:

This story was hilarious and heart breaking all mixed into one. It would be a wonderful novel to use to discuss stereotypes. Alexie writes about the tribe and their characteristics are often the stereotypes that people focus on to this day. It is also worthwhile to study the drawings that Ellen Forney contributes to the story. The drawings capture the adolescence of a Native American boy to the core. they are often dark but illuminate the hilarity in some of Junior's situations.