A Guide to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
by Alexie Sherman
Paperback- $11.24

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  "quick read, but full of interesting questions about race, education, and adolescence" by jenlibrarian (see profile) 02/25/08

 
  "The characters come alive so effortlessly!" by tmmillie (see profile) 03/11/08

The descriptions of the characters are sparse but I came away with a complete sense of who they are. Alexie doesn't spend a lot of time showing us what a good writer he is. He just writes and we're drawn in to the world. It's a sparse but flavorful place to live.

 
  "Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot." by chandrav (see profile) 12/05/08

An absolutely wonderful book. This book made us both cry and laugh within the same sentences. Heartfelt and will certainly produce much discussion.

 
  "Alexie is out of his element" by TheMandarinKing (see profile) 01/25/09

I am a huge fan of Alexie's short stories, so you can understand my disappointment in this short novel. He writes this book like an extended short story, full of pithy and ironic phrases that have worked well for him in his collections, but fail to form a compelling narrative in a novel. It just doesn't work, and is not a fun read.

 
  "Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by floccart (see profile) 03/25/11

I liked this book. I liked how I felt I knew Junior/Arnold, the main character who was living in between two worlds. Once he started at the white school, he didn't have a home in either place. There are very serious issued addressed with humor and without being heavy handed and that's a nice way to start a conversation. I was glad to have a peek into a life that is very eye opening to me.

 
  "Ever want to know what a teenage boy is REALLY thinking?" by brnoze (see profile) 10/17/11

This book was insightful, funny, and disturbing. But what made it a wonderful read for a book club is the discussions provoked about prejudging individuals by their race, looks, age and upbringing. There were paragraphs that made me laugh and cry all at one time. I highly recommend this book for anyone one who wants a peek into a teenage boy's inner thoughts. That in itself is scary, but also enlightening.

 
  "Part-Time Indian" by critzyj (see profile) 02/17/12

I wasn't sure I would like this book, but I did. It's written from the standpoint of a 14-year-old boy, so there is some juvenile humor, but it shed light on some pretty intense cultural issues and led to a lot of lively discussion in my book club.

 
  "Brilliantly written" by clamwo (see profile) 03/26/14

A book everyone should read.

 
  "" by Lauramay (see profile) 05/20/14

 
  "" by janefite (see profile) 07/14/15

 
  "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by cbraud (see profile) 09/17/15

Plenty to talk about with the controversial young adult book. Our club read this for Banned Book Week. While not difficult to see why the book has sparked such debate, we still felt it a worthy read.

 
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  "" by [email protected] (see profile) 06/14/24

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