The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a uniquely written realistic fiction novel by Sherman Alexie. The first person fictional narrator, Junior (aka Arnold Spirit), is a Native American teenager living on a reservation in the state of Washington. Junior tells his story of being the first to attend a primarily white school in a nearby town named Reardan when a teacher convinces him to try for a better future off the Spokane reservation.

From the day Junior was born, his life on the reservation has been difficult. The book starts with detailing his condition at birth; he was born with too much cerebral fluid in his brain, resulting in more teeth than normal, abnormally large feet and hands, poor eyesight, lisps, stutters, and seizures. As he grew up, he was bullied for all of the above.  Through all this, Junior has had a best friend on the reservation named Rowdy, with whom he loves to read comics and play basketball.

Most of the adults around him struggle with alcoholism, and as he grows into a teenager, he feels he has no future. Even his dog had to be put down because the family couldn’t afford treatment. The anger and misery take a toll on Junior, which culminates in an explosive reaction when he figures out that the schoolbook he is using is over thirty years older than he is. In a fit of blind rage, he hurls the book towards his teacher, Mr. P., earning him a suspension.

Everything changes for Junior when the teacher who he had hit shows up at Junior’s and starts to talk to him, convincing Junior that he has no real future if he stays on the reservation. Mr. P. inspires Junior by telling him that the act of throwing the book shows that Junior is the only student in that classroom who hasn’t given up yet, and that he needs to get off the reservation. Junior makes the decision to start attending school in Reardan to pursue a better life. From the first day, even using his white given name Arnold Spirit, Junior faces judgemental stares and racist remarks and has to prove himself to his classmates.  He is able to make it onto the varsity basketball team, but is forced to face the Wellpinit team that he had just abandoned. Heckling Junior as he enters the gym, the Wellpinit team is filled with so much angry energy that they are able to defeat Reardan. 

Life at home is not going well either. His best friend Rowdy hates him for leaving the reservation. Alcohol becomes a source of tragedy in his life. His grandmother is run over by a drunk driver, and his sister becomes so drunk at a party that she sleeps through the flames that devour the RV she’s in. His father’s friend Eugene, whom Junior admired, is shot in the face by a friend as they drunkenly fight over the last sip in a bottle. WIth all of the sorrow in his life on the reservation, it isn’t a surprise that he starts to look for friends at Reardan.

 Many teenage coming-of-age novels can end up being relatable to the reader, especially if they happen to have grown up in the same situation as the protagonist. Junior is no ordinary teenager, and it is probable that not everyone reading his book has had to endure everything he has. However, in his unique story lies a common theme that adolescents all over the world can relate to: the struggles of not fitting in. From being bullied on the reservation for his looks to being bullied at Reardan for his race and just being the new kid, Junior has always had to prove himself. Once he began attending school in Reardan, he lost his best friend, so the bullying at home on the reservation only worsened because he had no one to turn to.

            At a certain point in the story, Junior begins to fit into his new community at Reardan. He makes a new friend named Gordon, bonds with his coach, and finds a girlfriend. Even the boy who had insulted him with racist remarks on the first day has become one of his friends. As Alexie writes, “If you let people into your life a little, they can be pretty damn amazing.” At this point, he begins to learn how he can define himself as an individual without being associated with all the stereotypes of his race. Alexie could have easily ended the book at this upbeat moment, with the story becoming Junior moving on and defeating his past to discover his new self. However, it doesn’t.

After his triumphant basketball victory over Wellpinit, Junior begins to feel guilt for abandoning all his reservation friends and humiliating them like this. As Junior goes on to point out, “I realized that my team, the Reardan Indians, was Goliath.” He knows that everyone on the Reardan team had guaranteed futures, while many of the members of the Wellpinit team didn’t even have a guaranteed breakfast. Although Arnold feels as though Rowdy still despises him, Junior still desperately wants to make up with him. This changes when Junior catches Rowdy spying on a funeral for Junior’s sister. Even as Rowdy blames Junior for his own sister’s death and throws punches at him, Junior takes it, feeling that Rowdy has a point. In a strange way, this fight opens a door for reconnection. Later that summer, the two boys begin to play basketball together. In the end, Junior is able to find his own balance between his two lives, and the book ends on a hopeful note.

            This book also sheds an insightful light on poverty. Many novels choose to romanticize poverty as a force that comes to shape a character into a better and stronger grown-up. Alexie chooses to avoid this: “Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.” It is important to realize that poverty is not a challenge to be overcome, it is a misery that everyone wants to escape.

            Even when the hero escapes the terrible circumstances he was born into, he finds that he can never truly abandon his origins. As a part-time Indian, he never belongs to one group or the other, but in the end he seems to find some future in this. It seemed to me that the author is saying that as you grow up, you should never be afraid of loneliness and finding your own path. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a beautifully written coming-of-age novel that can make you laugh at the author’s brilliant humor and cry about the situations he creates. Though it contains valuable lessons for readers of any age, I would especially recommend this book to teenagers for its relatability and how it may help you in your own life.

Check out Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian from NBPL!