The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie Narrated by Sherman Alexie

Overview

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

With a forward by Markus Zusak, interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney, and four-color interior art throughout, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.

Editorial Reviews

With his first foray into teen literature, acclaimed author Sherman Alexie packs a punch in this absorbing novel about a Native American boy searching for a brighter future. At once humorous and stirring, Alexie's novel follows Junior, a resident of the Spokane reservation who transfers out of the reservation's school -- and into a nearby rich, all-white farm school -- in order to nurture his desire to become a cartoonist. Junior encounters resistance there, a backlash at home, and numerous family problems -- all the while relaying his thoughts and feelings via amusing descriptions and drawings. Having already garnered a National Book Award for Young Adult Literature, this moving look at race and growing up is definitely one to oick up.

Bruce Barcott

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is Alexie's first foray into the young adult genre, and it took him only one book to master the form. Recently nominated for a National Book Award, this is a gem of a book. I keep flipping back to re-read the best scenes and linger over Ellen Forney's cartoons…For 15 years now, Sherman Alexie has explored the struggle to survive between the grinding plates of the Indian and white worlds. He's done it through various characters and genres, but The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian may be his best work yet. Working in the voice of a 14-year-old forces Alexie to strip everything down to action and emotion, so that reading becomes more like listening to your smart, funny best friend recount his day while waiting after school for a ride home.
—The New York Times

Kirkus Reviews

Alexie nimbly blends sharp wit with unapologetic emotion in his first foray into young-adult literature. Fourteen-year-old Junior is a cartoonist and bookworm with a violent but protective best friend Rowdy. Soon after they start freshman year, Junior boldly transfers from a school on the Spokane reservation to one in a tiny white town 22 miles away. Despite his parents' frequent lack of gas money (they're a "poor-ass family"), racism at school and many crushing deaths at home, he manages the year. Rowdy rejects him, feeling betrayed, and their competing basketball teams take on mammoth symbolic proportions. The reservation's poverty and desolate alcoholism offer early mortality and broken dreams, but Junior's knowledge that he must leave is rooted in love and respect for his family and the Spokane tribe. He also realizes how many other tribes he has, from "the tribe of boys who really miss . . . their best friends" to "the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers." Junior's keen cartoons sprinkle the pages as his fluid narration deftly mingles raw feeling with funny, sardonic insight. (Fiction. YA)

From the Publisher

2007 National Book Award Winner
The New York Times Book Review Notable Books of 2007 (children's books)
NYPL Books for the Teen Age 2008
2007 PW "Off the Cuff" Awards: Favorite YA Novel
2007 Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year
2007 Kirkus Reviews Best YA Books
2007 School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
2007 Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner

"This is a gem of a book....may be [Sherman Alexie's] best work yet."—New York Times

* "Nimbly blends sharp with unapologetic emotion....fluid narration deftly mingles raw feelings with funny, sardonic insight."—Kirkus, starred review

* "A Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Sure to resonate and lift spirits of all ages for years to come."—USA Today

* "Realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time."—VOYA, starred review

* "The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel."—Horn Book, starred review

* "Characters...are portrayed with compassion and verve....delivers a positive message in a low-key manner."—School Library Journal, starred review

New York Times

"This is a gem of a book....may be [Sherman Alexie's] best work yet."

BookPage

"Deftly taps into the human desire to stand out while fitting in."

Minneapolis Star Tribune

"[Alexie] has created an endearing teen protagonist in his own likeness and placed him in the here and now."

Miami Herald

"Exceptionally good....Arnold is a wonderful character."

Newsday

"Fierce observations and sharp sense of humor...hilarious language."

Booklist

"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience."

Los Angeles Times

"Few writers are more masterful than Sherman Alexie."

(starred review) - BCCB

"What emerges most strongly is Junior's uncompromising determination to press on while leaving nothing important behind."

(starred review) - Horn Book

"The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel."

USA Today

"Sure to resonate and lift spirits of all ages for years to come."

JUN/JUL 08 - AudioFile

At birth, Arnold “Junior” Spirit survives brain surgery but he wonders if he will survive the Spokane Indian reservation, where he lives. The teasing about his lisp and stuttering is worse than the poverty and alcoholism that surround him. Rather than risk intellectual death, he transfers to a white school, where he and the school mascot are the only two Indians. The author’s rhythmic reading brings out the lyricism of his writing. Like his hero, Alexie has a storyteller’s voice: “that singsong reservation accent that made everything I said sound like a bad poem.” Conversations are written with humor and verve, and delivered with punch and enthusiasm. The author’s performance experience is clear in his pacing—from the slow, subdued style at a family funeral to the breakneck speed of a climactic basketball game. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170266043
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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