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

I haven't been reviewing lately because I haven't read much that got me excited. I can't tell you how many books I've read a few chapters of, only to put them aside for later. And then I picked up Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. 

Sherman Alexie has long been a favorite author of mine, and he has yet to fail me. He writes about his experiences growing up on a Spokane reservation in Washington. Alexie is intelligent and witty and his writing is so wonderful that it has the ability to pull me back into my interest in reading.

Junior narrates Alexie's latest novel with all the candor and wit of a middle school boy. Junior is about as average as one can get. He's not tall, he's not a bully, he's not the smartest. He's just average. Until he decides to go to school in Reardan where all the kids are middle class and white. Suddenly there's nothing average about Jumior and he is faced with the fact that he no longer fits in anywhere. The indian kids at home think he's a traitor, trying to be a white kid. The white kids in Reardan think that he will always be a strange indian kid. Junior finds himself struggling with his identity while also handling real-life situations that only further alienate him from the two worlds he lives in.

I can't recommend Sherman Alexie enough. His writing is so unique and so charming. His stories are so real and so relatable. Alexie gets me excited about reading again!

Rating: $$$