![]() **Reminder – January’s challenge is to read a book that takes place in the future. How about you? Did you read a book set in Canada or the Pacific Northwest? Tell us about it in the comments section. While fart jokes aren’t really my cup of tea, I really liked the book for its honesty, wisdom, humor, and glimpse of the struggles of reservation life. This one had content you would expect from an adolescent narrator, including fart jokes. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is yet another young adult (YA) novel that I enjoyed, however its tone is very different from something like I Must Betray You. In fact, I would say the overall tone of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is humorously hopeful. Combined with his witty narration, they keep the story from being too grim. The cartoons allow Junior to sort out the events in his life with humor. It’s a lot for a 13-year-old boy to handle, but Junior has an effective coping mechanism – he draws cartoons. While being ostracized on the reservation, Junior is also struggling to fit in with his new classmates. To his fellow tribe members, including Junior’s best friend, transferring schools was a significant betrayal. His teacher recognizes Junior’s potential and doesn’t want to see him lose hope like his sister. The family lives in poverty, often not having enough food.Īgainst this backdrop, Junior’s math teacher visits him one day and urges him to transfer to the white school 22 miles away. His older sister, who once had dreams of being a writer, has checked out of life and spends most of her time in the basement. Junior’s father is an alcoholic who goes on multi-day benders. The old textbook is one of many symbols of the hopelessness of reservation life, where alcoholism and unemployment run high. He’s a bright kid who’s looking forward to learning, but when his math teacher hands him a textbook that his mother previously used, he loses it and throws the book at his teacher, smashing his nose. Junior (whose real name is Arnold) is just beginning high school at a reservation school. With its Washington state setting, this novel fit the bill nicely. December’s challenge was to read a book that takes place in the Pacific Northwest or Canada because that’s where a lot of Christmas trees come from. I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian as part of the 2022 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. (This in no way affects the honesty of my reviews!) All commissions will be donated to the ALS Association. ![]() As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, from qualifying purchases. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. The narrator, Junior, deals with serious topics with wit and wisdom that will have you laughing and also sometimes tearing up. A stunning story of bravery, love, how far we've come and how much farther we have to go.The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is Sherman Alexie’s semi-autobiographical narrative about a young native American boy torn between the hopelessness of his reservation and the promise of a better future at an all-white high school. In this novel told in dual narratives, New York Times–bestselling author Robin Talley weaves together the lives of two young women connected across generations through the power of words. She feels especially connected to one author, a woman who wrote under the pseudonym "Marian Love," and becomes determined to track her down and discover her true identity. Between the pages of her favorite book, the stresses of Abby's own life are lost to the fictional hopes, desires, and tragedies of the characters she's reading about. Sixty-two years later, Abby Zimet can't stop thinking about her senior project and its subject-classic 1950s lesbian pulp fiction. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself-and Marie-to a danger all too real. It's not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. In 1955, eighteen-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend Marie a secret. ![]() "Suspenseful parallel lesbian love stories deftly illuminate important events in LGBTQ history" in the New York Times–bestselling author's YA novel ( Kirkus Reviews). ![]()
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