The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian

Wow, that's one heck of a book title

Anyways, The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian is based off of the true story of an aspiring, Native American cartoonist. The character you follow is nicknamed Junior, and it is about his struggle of trying to be someone more than himself while at the same time, fighting the opposition of discrimination and the hardships of his life. It sounds like a serious story, but the narrator, Junior, tells it in a sarcastic, comical way that made me laugh several times. The setting of the story takes place in an Indian reservation. This is basically a community of poor Native American people.

One of the drawing's made by Junior in the book.
It compares his shortcomings as an Indian
to the opposite qualities of a white person.

When Junior decides to go to an all-white school instead of the school at the reservation, he is faced with all sorts of problems. He is the only Indian in the school and at first, he finds it hard to fit in. Not only this, but the Indians back at the reservation now see him as a traitor for being a "white lover" and trying to make a better life away from them. Even his best friend, Rowdy, turns his back on him when he switches schools.

Junior is one of my favorite characters to read about because I feel like anyone can relate to him. Sure, not everyone is put down and beaten up by their neighbors but everyone goes through hard times in their life every once in a while. Junior shows his weakness as a human being, and he also shows hope for anyone who is experiencing a difficult time in their life by showing how he was able to turn his own problems around.
After I finished the book, I felt happy. The story was about a boy who overcame all of his hardships when it seemed that all odds were stacked against him. For instance, his uncle, grandmother, and sister had died all in the same year while he was still struggling with his own problems with discrimination at his school. However, he was still able to make everything all better through hard work and determination. I think this is why I liked the book so much, whenever I have problems in my life, I tend to shrivel up and almost give up. But this book proves that any bad situation can be turned around, and now I know that I just have to get through any hardships life throws my way no matter what. This is why I decided to create a theme statement for this book: In The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie suggests that any hardship can be overcome if you can work hard enough to get through it.