Half White, Half Indian, or Both? Y.A. Fiction

Title- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Author- Sherman Alexie

Illustrator- Ellen Forney

Publisher- Little, Brown and Company

Copyright Date- 2007

Number of Pages- 229

Awards- National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2007), American Indian Library Association Best Young Adult Book (2008), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (2008), Odyssey 

Award (2009), California Young Reader Medal (2010)

Reading Level- age 13-17

Genre- Young adult fiction, realistic fiction 

Summary

Arnold Spirit Jr., aka Junior, the main character narrates his life from the Spokane Indian Reservation.  He takes the reader on a journey inside the life of a full blooded Indian, that feels half Indian half white.  The story starts with the difficult life he has led so far. He has an alcoholic father, a depressed mother, a best friend who is a jerk, and he was born with excess fluid in his brain causing a variety of medial issues.  After he throws a book at his teacher and gets suspended from school, his life takes a turn.  He decides he wants to travel 20 miles every day to the all-white school in a neighboring town.  Junior is torn between maintaining a loyalty to the reservation that has abused him his entire life, and bettering himself and attending the all-white school.  With his parents support he enrolls in the all-white school and is surprised at how differently he is treated, in a good way.  He joins the basketball team and becomes a key player.  He makes friends with the white kids, as he grows away from his best friend on the reservation.  After he leaves, his sister marries a Montana Indian and moves away.  You will have to read the book to find out what happens in Junior’s basketball season, with his sister’s marriage, his girlfriend, and with his best friend who hates him.

The story follows him through deaths, alcoholism, basketballs games, girlfriends, best friends, poverty, bullying, and many other teen issues.  He loves to draw cartoons, and the cartoons in the book often show more emotion than his words express.  They let the reader deep inside Junior’s thoughts and feelings.  It is humorous and sad.   The book is real, controversial, and even offensive at times.  

Teaching Ideas

This book would work in a mature classroom, it addresses many controversial issues including sex, drugs, bullying, alcoholism, and death.  There are racial and homosexual slurs.  The characters use profanity, and are often times very offensive.  With that being said, the issues that are addressed are real, they exist and are often times worse on reservations.   This book will give students a look into a different life, the life Native Americans on a reservation. 

The book could be used in a history class during the study of Native Americans.  The students could read the book and then study a tribe or research a reservation.  To connect back to the book, they could create their own comic that tells the story of the tribe they have researched.  This book actually mentions a reservation here in Montana, and this would give students here an immediate connection to the book. 

The book ends with a list of discussion questions, lessons could easily be created around these questions. 

The following are links to lessons already created for this book.

Scholastic Lesson Plans

One Book Lesson Plans

Ratings

Element of Literature	Excellent	Average	Inadequate	Not Addressed	Rating
Plot	The plot is engaging; the reader is invested in the outcome.  Contains conflict, a climax and a resolution.    The reader buys into the story line; it is believable to the reader.	The plot is average it contains some of the essential elements such as conflict, climax and resolution.  One element is either missing or poorly developed.  The reader may or may not buy into the storyline, it is just not that believable.	Multiple essential elements, conflict, climax and/or resolution are missing or poorly developed.  It is not believable and overall a bad plot.		This plot is very engaging, and by the end of the story I needed to know what happened to Junior and his family.  I laughed and I cried as I read the book.  The plot is believable, everything that happens to Junior could happen to any teenage boy.  The plot contains conflicts, an emotional climax and ends with a friendly resolution.
Characters	Characters are unique and believable.  The characters come to life when the reader is engaged in the story.  When the book is done, the reader still connects with the characters of the book.  Characters have personalities, flaws, and feelings. There is a protagonist, possibly an antagonist and some supporting characters.	Characters are similar to other books, have little to no uniqueness.  When the reader is done with the book, they are also done with the characters, there is no lasting connection.  Characters display little in terms of personality.  There are no supporting characters, or no clear protagonist.	Characters are dull and lifeless, there is no connection to the characters.  There is no clear protagonist and no supporting characters.  The characters are too farfetched.		I still have a connection to the main character, Junior., and I want to know what happened to him after his freshman year of high school.  All of the characters in this book reminded me of real people, they have flaws and display raw emotions.  The protagonist is Junior and the antagonist is his best friend.  The cast of supporting characters is big, and well developed.
Illustrations	The illustrations share in the story telling. The pictures help to develop the characters, establish the mood, and setting.  They contain some of the following elements, hidden details, facial expressions, different viewpoints, interesting asides, action depiction, or supporting details.  The pictures themselves may be created out of different mediums in order to support the plot.  Visual elements are used effectively (line, shape, color, texture and composition).	The illustrations support the story telling.  The pictures help with some but not all of the following, establish mood and setting, and developing characters.  They contain few if any of the following elements, hidden details, facial expressions, different viewpoints, interesting asides, action depiction, or supporting details.  The pictures are basic and do not use visual elements effectively.	The illustrations are in conflict with the story.  The pictures do not develop or establish anything in relation to the book.  There are no additional elements in the illustrations.  Visual elements detract from the plot.		The illustrations are essential to this book.  Junior writes and illustrates comics, these comics contain hidden details into his emotions and show details that just cannot be shown through the words of the story.  Without the illustrations this book would not be the same, they are part of the story.
Word Choice	There are a more than two of the following elements used effectively, precise vocabulary, figurative language, dialogue, and music in language.	There are one or two of the following elements used effectively, precise vocabulary, figurative language, dialogue, and music in language.	There are none of the following elements or they are not used effectively, precise vocabulary, figurative language, dialogue, and music in language.		The word choice is average.  The book is written from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy, so I would say that precise vocabulary is used. There is some dialogue.   However, there is little figurative language, and no music in the language.