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

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Junior (Arnold Spirit), has grown up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and is now ready to strike out into the world and attend high school in the neighboring white-majority town. He has an easier time fitting in at his new school than he imagined he would, and even ends up on the basketball team despite having a prior brain injury. Junior's old friends from the reservation are not as happy about his success, and they take it out on each other on the basketball court. All the while Junior deals with dating, and the death of family members. Junior is one determined kid, and while trying to find his way off of the reservation and out of poverty, Junior discovers himself in this realistic fiction novel.

Grades 7 & up.

Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian.  New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.


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