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

This is my last title for the Book Awards Challenge (and just in the nick of time!)

Winner of the National Book Award, published by Little, Brown Young Readers

As I continue my foray into young adult literature (YA), I’m finding that my usual approach to reviews doesn’t quite fit. So I’m going to do something a little different.

A description from the publisher:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

After The Book Thief, I didn’t really know where to go in YA, so I polled a few colleagues and clients, and several of them recommended The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Then I overheard a few middle school teachers trying to decide whether they should add this to their summer reading list, so, being the nosy book lady that I am, I butted right in and asked why they were uncertain.  Turns out this book has been challenged and banned a couple times. So let’s talk about that first.

The Ban

As far as I can tell, the hubbub about this book started when a 14-year-old student at an Oregon school located not to far from where the book is set in Spokane, Washington, brought it home as required reading. His father read a few pages and decided that it “had a lot of references that [he] didn’t feel comfortable with,” so he went straight to the school board. Over references to what?  Masturbation. Here’s what Junior has to say about it.

I spend hours in the bathroom with a magazine that has one thousand pictures of naked movie stars:

Naked woman + right hand = happy happy joy joy

Yep, that’s right, I admit that I masturbate.

I’m proud of it.

I’m good at it.

I’m ambidextrous.

If there were a Professional Masturbators League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars.

And maybe you’re thinking, “Well, you really shouldn’t be talking about masturbation in public.”

Well, tough, I’m going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it.

And if God hadn’t wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn’t have given us thumbs.

The father who complained about this book said he didn’t think it was an appropriate assignment for a 14-year-old, but hello, what is the number one hobby of adolescent boys everywhere?  Puh-leeze. This father also said he understood that “there are people who agree with the book and think it’s OK to talk about this stuff openly, and I really don’t.”Now, he’s entitled to his opinion, and maybe he should have requested an alternate assignment for his son—who, I guarantee you, already knew about masturbation in the first place—but an all-school ban just seems a bit, well, extreme.

Are any of us surprised that a male teenage character likes to masturbate? Would this father have complained if the book presented a negative or shaming message about masturbation? Personally, I would much rather have horny teenage boys masturbating happily away rather than inflicting their awkward, horny teenage selves onto equally awkward teenage girls. And it’s not like they don’t try that, anyway. I didn’t find Junior’s

The paragraph I quoted above is the only reference to masturbation and by far the most blatant reference to sexuality in the entire book, and it is just one of a slew of (mostly benign) statements that make Junior likeable, relatable, and a very real, believable character.

The Illustrations

Junior tells us early on that he loves to draw cartoons.

I draw because words are too unpredictable.

I draw because words are too limited.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is filled with illustrations that really let us in on Junior’s sense of humor and his understanding of himself. He is self-deprecating, insightful, sarcastic, and every bit a thirteen-year-old boy trying to figure out where he fits in in two very different environments. Junior’s words often made me smile or smirk; his illustrations made me laugh out loud. For me, they were the most special feature of this book and one of the things that made it truly unique.

The Message

What sets this book apart from the YA lit masses is that the author manages to tell a great story and explore themes about identity and culture that many authors shy away from. Junior is like a man without a country. He is too smart to choose to continue living on the impoverished reservation where everyone knows him, his family, and all of their secrets, but he sticks out like a sore thumb at the affluent all-white school, and he can’t really imagine how he’s going to make a future in the white world.

Junior’s struggle to develop his cultural and personal identities, to navigate the choppy waters of adolescence, and to separate from his family enough to look at them with a little perspective will resonate with readers from privileged and minority groups alike. His alternating confidence and self-doubt will be familiar terrain, and the lessons he learns, whether you’re hearing them for the first time or the thousandth, will remind you of what it’s like to be a teenager, or, if you are still one, will give you hope that life really does become more bearable.

The Bottom Line

I really enjoyed reading this book, and while I can understand that the bit about masturbation might not appeal to some readers, I think the vast majority of Junior’s story is uncontroversial and definitely worth checking out. Alexie treats his characters with kindness, insight, and great humor, and I will definitely be recommending The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian to teen readers (and reassuring their parents when necessary).