The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School. Broken Arrow, OK -- School Library Journal, 6/20/2008

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (unabr.). 5 cassettes or 5 CDs. 5 hrs. Recorded Books (recordedbooks.com). 2008. cassette, ISBN 978-1-4281-8292-9: $33.75; CD, ISBN 978-1-4281-8297-4: $46.75.

Gr 8 Up–Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, is an unlikely hero in this semiautobiographical novel (Little, Brown, 2007) by Alexie Sherman. He was born with water on the brain, lives in abject poverty on an Indian reservation near Spokane, and is surrounded by the hopelessness of alcoholism. When a caring teacher recognizes that the boy still has hope, he insists that Junior leave the reservation school. Junior defies his tribe and enrolls in an all-white school 22 miles from the reservation. At Rearden he becomes known as Arnold, but acceptance comes very slowly. At first his classmates are wary and many are racist. When the football captain delivers a jaw-dropping racial slur, Arnold slugs him and is baffled by the fear he sees in the other boys’ eyes. He realizes that the rules are different off the rez and he doesn’t know the new rules. Through tenacity and humor, Arnold eventually finds a way to balance his part-time life on the reservation with his part-time life at school. The narration by the author is delivered in what Arnold might describe as the sing-song cadence of Indian speech. Poetic, deeply funny, politically incorrect, slightly naughty, and heart-wrenching, the story makes a flawless transition from print to audio. Sherman provides a glimpse into an unfamiliar culture and maintains a balance between the bleak reality of reservation life and the stunning beauty of a loving family and friendship. An essential purchase for all libraries serving older teens.

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