True for many (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian)

Alexie, S. (2007) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York, NY: Little Brown

Spoilers ahead!

 

Junior was born with too much water on the brain.  Well to be exact,  too much cerebral-spinal fluid.  His condition led to him having bad eyesight, a stutter, and a lisp.  This caused most people on the reservation to be not too nice to him.  He had one friend though, Rowdy.  Rowdy was always ready to defend him, and Rowdy was ready to fight anyone.  So things have been a bit rough. 

Even so, Junior is looking forward to high school. He can’t wait to learn new things and try out for the basketball team.  His first day doesn’t go so well.  After seeing his new geometry textbook is the same one his mother used when she was in school, he is filled with a sudden anger. He throws the book, and it hits his teacher straight in the face.  So Junior is suspended.  The next day his teacher, Mr.P,  comes to his house to see him.  He forgives Junior.  He tells him about how he’s mistreated other Indian kids in the past and how he wishes he could apologize to all of them.  Mr. P tells him about his sister’s talent for writing and how her potential has gone to waste.  He also tells Junior something that will change his life.  He tells Junior that he has to get out of the reservation. 

So the next day Junior signs up to go to school at Reardan, a school just outside the Rez.  Junior tries to get Rowdy to go with him, but Rowdy just punches him.  After that, Rowdy doesn’t want anything to do with him.  School at Reardan is pretty tough, especially at first.  People call him names or ignore him, but that’s pretty much like at home so it’s no big deal.  He keeps on ignoring it until a really big guy, Roger, makes a very racist joke at his expense.  Junior knows the rules. At the Rez, if someone insults you then you have to fight them.  So he punches Roger straight in the face, knocking him down.  Junior’s ready to get his butt kicked, but Roger doesn’t fight him. Roger just looks at him like he’s out of his mind and walks away.  People pretty much stop calling him names after that.

The mild respect he earns doesn’t exactly make him cool either.  So life is still tough.  Getting to and from school is tough, and sometimes he has to walk the 22 miles home.  If people picked on him at the Reservation before, they may as well double it now.  Now they consider him a traitor.  Eventually things turn around a bit though as he makes a nerd friend, Gordy.  He even gets himself a girlfriend, Penelope.  This he accomplishes after talking to her outside the bathrooms after a bit of bulimia.  Penelope is like the hottest girl in school, so this ups his popular in a major way.  Then he joins the basketball team.  He keeps pushing and pushing himself even though life is tough.

Life gets really tough for him.  First his grandmother dies, hit by a drunk driver.  Then his dad’s best friend, practically an uncle, is shot in the face by over a drink.  His sister dies when her home burns down, caused by a drunk friend.  Alcohol seems to be the root of every Indian problem.  He misses a lot of school, but his school friends readily support him.

Summer comes and Junior sits in his house thinking, but not really doing much.  Rowdy, who Junior was sure still hated him, shows up.  The go out to play some basketball.  While there, Rowdy professes that he always knew that Junior would leave the Rez.  He knew he was meant for greater things.  They continue to play ball into the night, not even keeping score.

This book gives a good look into what life is like on the reservation. I’ve never lived, but my friend Orrin is Navajo and grew up on a rez in New Mexico.  It’s a different people than those in Spokane but the stories are similar.  The story also has all those good things that a coming-of-age tale needs.  It has humor, hurt, and that optimism for the future that every teen needs to hear.  The illustrations are pretty funny too.  This is a pretty good book for any teen, especially boys.

I read this book because it is one of my required readings.