Documenting the Trials and Tribulations of Adolescence from a Native American Perspective: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian book cover

Author Sherman Alexie

I just finished Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and I’m so disappointed that I only just read this book now. A good friend of mine had recommended this book several times, and I used to teach Alexie’s story “This is What in Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” but I cannot believe that it has taken me nearly 18 years to encounter this book. The short story was definitely one of the highlights of my short story unit, as the two characters Victor and Thomas, share a strange journey to retrieve Victor’s father’s body. There’s so much great dialogue and humor for a story about death and fractured family relationships. My students would often laugh at Alexie’s word play between the two characters and the critiques of history and racism he routinely lobs throughout the story. I didn’t even realize that this was the basis for Smoke Signals until I started reading the story to prepare for class. Nevertheless, there’s definitely some shared themes and tones between the story and the book. However, I kept thinking that Junior and Rowdy were the kinds of characters I would have loved to encounter when I was a younger reader, and I think this would be a great book to teach, especially for some reluctant male readers, who I would also imagine that they might identify with Junior’s thoughts and experiences throughout the book. I actually read it along with my son, who was looking for a book to read. I got tired of him reading the same Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate books. The book has some controversy about it—Junior is an adolescent boy who experiences a lot of challenges with his growth and development. Some of the passages were a little cringeworthy with allegations leveled at Alexie. Nevertheless, Junior’s story of leaving the Rez to attend a predominantly white and affluent school speaks to a lot of adolescents’ experiences with leaving the comfort of their family to search for their identity. However, Alexie’s perspective as an Indian allows readers to learn and attempt to understand how Junior’s own experience and the racism, both casual and overt, he experiences impacts his encounters with the white world. I loved his resilience and his continued efforts to be authentic, having others accept him as is. We also learn about Junior’s thoughts and emotions as he encounters some particularly challenging aspects of life that not all adolescents face. There are several deaths throughout the book, and as Junior notes, like many Indians, he’s attended more than 40 funerals. Despite all of these challenges, Junior faces them with humor and acceptance, often leaning on his community, whether it is his family or his newfound community of friends at Reardon, his new high school. One of the coolest points of the book is when Junior is confused about his feelings for Penelope, a popular and pretty white classmate. He asks another white friend, Gordy, to do some research about being in love with a white girl. Gordy’s search yields information about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Movement, and it’s a great way to raise awareness about how society often overlooks crimes against women of color, and how there are so many missing and murdered indigenous women in areas like Washington state, as well as Mexico, where Gordy is researching. I loved how Alexie enables Junior’s presence to raise awareness and learn more about people and cultures that are often left out of headlines and textbooks. The sections detailing Junior’s basketball games and his friendship and eventual competition with Rowdy are also some of the best parts of the book, and it’s also some of the elements that will be most appealing to reluctant male readers. Alexie captures some great aspects of the games and presents them in an entertaining and exciting manner.

This edition comes with great illustrations that allow readers to better understand Junior’s worldview. I loved the illustrations and how they complemented Junior’s thinking and perspectives about the world he encounters. However, the 10^th edition that I read also included a moving note from Alexie about the inspiration for the character of Rowdy. I won’t spoil too much about it, but if you happen to be able to read this edition, please do read this bonus content, especially this note from Alexie about his friend Randy J. Peone, who inspired the character of Rowdy. It’s a beautiful, funny, and elegiac piece of writing that was both touching and sad to read after this book. I highly recommend Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It’s one of those essential adolescent texts like Cisneros’ House on Mango Street and Saligner’s Catcher in the Rye, that presents the challenges and struggles of adolescence in a touching, natural and relevant manner, providing some reassurance for teens and some reminders to adults, parents, and teachers about what a difficult but important time this can be.