The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2009). The absolutely true diary of a

part-time Indian. NY: Little, Brown and

Company.

Arnold Spirit, Jr. lives in poverty on a Spokane Indian Reservation, or rez. When he finds his mother's name written on one of his books, he realizes the school has been using the same books for over thirty years. He decides to leave the rez in order to get a better education. He attends Rearden in the neighboring town where he is the only Indian, aside from the school mascot. Junior must fight to find his place on and off the rez.
This book is a wonderful read for the age group of 12-17 years. I feel Alexie does a great job of portraying Junior as a true underdog and I couldn't help but root for him.
Alexie uses emotional development with Junior's character. Throughout the novel, he faces emotional dilemmas from being ridiculed on the rez to wanting a better education to feeling like an outcast at Rearden. To add to his emotional turmoil, he also has to deal with losing multiple people that he loved.