The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

With the amount of academic reading that I am asked to complete for school, I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and read a light, enjoyable book in a while. However, I found that much-needed fun, easy read in Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I sat down to start this book, only expecting to read a few chapters. Two hours later, I found myself on the last few pages. I was hooked! His narrator is so genuine and relatable, I didn't want to stop reading. I would love to teach this book in a classroom setting. Not only would it engage readers through humor and relatable characters, it discusses many social and cultural experiences that our students have likely seen or experienced, such as racism, alcoholism, poverty, ostracism, bullying, etc. Better yet, these events are told through a narrator who is would be so relatable to the students. I'm sure that all students at one time or another could connect to the feelings of loss, of being different, of not belonging that the narrator describes. I also love the use of drawings throughout the book. With the pictures, the book appeals to a wider range of students -- both auditory and visual learners. Like the writing, the pictures are often humorous and very well represent what Alexie describes in the chapters. I love the inclusion of the awkward, often hormonal love story, and the narrators rise to fame and popularity. Between the pictures and the humor, Alexie manages to include many useful and timeless lessons that could benefit students of all ages. He displays the importance of friendship, tolerance, and understanding, as well as perseverance, encouragement, and the power of expectations. He shows his readers that it is okay to create one's own path, even if it's one that nobody has been down before. If taught in the classroom, this book would captivate the students while teaching them important lessons that would last a lifetime. If not taught, in the very least, it's an essential book to keep as part of a classroom library.