14. The Absolutely True Dairy of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Alexie, Sherman. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group. ISBN-10:0-316-01368-4. p. 229

Genre: Fiction/Multicultural
Interest Age: 14+
Curriculum: Literature Class, Multicultural Studies

Reader’s Annotation

Junior Spirit leads something of a double life: Half-White when he’s at his mostly white high school; Half Indian when he’s at home on the Reservation.

Plot Summary

Junior Spirit is a 14 year old Native American kid living in poverty on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Born with “water on the brain” and numerous other physical ailments (a big head, poor sight, etc…) which make him the target of constant bullying from not only kids his age but just about everyone else on the “rez”; his family is dirt poor, his father is an alcoholic, his mother suffers from depression, his sister does nothing, and Junior feels buried in a sense of hopelessness. To try and escape the cycle of depression, alcoholism, and hopelessness, Junior decides he wants to go to school off the reservation, with the white people. For this, he is branded a traitor by the entire tribe including his best friend. Junior becomes an outsider not only at his new school where he is the only other Indian his classmates know is possibly Tonto from the Lone Ranger, but also at home.

Junior deals with his daily struggles with leading a sort of double life with a self deprecating, witty, and sarcastic sense of humor and by drawing the people in his life.

Critical Review

In Junior Spirit, Sherman Alexie has created one of the most off-beat and intelligent characters in the YA Fiction genre. The laundry list of struggles that Junior must face on a day to day basis (e.g. alcoholism, racism, poverty, and prejudice from both white people and his tribe) sets the stage for what could be a soul crushingly intense story; but Alexie writes Junior with such a sarcastic, self deprecating wit that the reader can’t help but laugh at Junior’s situation. Junior’s first illustration of himself as the glasses wearing, lopsided, shaking nerd exemplifies how he chooses to deal with his struggles, the humor. The writing and especially the illustrations done by cartoonist Ellen Forney make the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian a hilarious read, as well as a enlightening and touching one.

Through humor, Alexie addresses many sensitive issues concerning modern Native American and reservation life. He skillfully addresses heartbreaking issues of poverty and alcoholism which are rampant on many reservations; he laments the self destructive nature of his people (Alexie himself is Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian); racism and prejudices of both the white people Junior goes to school with and the members of his tribe at home on the reservation are masterfully dealt with.

Humor and tragedy surround Junior Spirit’s life and Alexie blends the two so subtly that the reader may find themselves laughing on one page and choking up the next. If it can be said that comedy and drama are two faces of the same coin, Sherman Alexie has found a way to balance the coin on its edge without having one side obscure the other.

Author Info

Sherman Alexie was born in 1966 on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington (where Diary of a Part-Time Indian is set). Alexie has garnered critical acclaim for his stories about contemporary reservation life. Alexie’s early life on the reservation was characterized by poverty and alcoholism. He was an exemplary student and attended Gonzaga University on Spokane. After struggling with alcohol abuse himself, he transferred to Washington State University. Here he began writing and received a Washington State Arts Commission poetry fellowship.

In 1992, Alexie had his first collection of poetry and short fiction published. The Business of Fancy Dancing is filled with themes of “despair, poverty, and alcoholism that often pervades lives of Native Americans of reservations”. He went on to publish numerous novels Reservation Blues (1995) and Indian Killer (1996), the short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993), and several collection of poetry including First Indian on the Moon (1993) and Old Shirts & New Skins (1993), War Dances (2009) and Face (2009) His YA novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007) won a National Book Award.

"Sherman (Joseph), (Jr.) Alexie." Contemporary Literary Criticism Select. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 May 2010.

Book Talking Ideas

1. How does Junior describe life on the reservation?
2. What are the differences between the school on the reservation and the school at Reardan?
3. Who are the most important people in Junior’s life? Why?

Challenges

The book has been challenged several times. In 2008, the book was pulled from a Freshman English class curriculum after a father complained that the book “had a lot of references that I didn’t feel comfortable with.” The main issue was the short passage referring to masturbation.

The book also contains some profanity. Issues of alcoholism, child abuse, and racism are also discussed.

Dake, Lauren. (2008). “School yanks book from class after complaint”. The Bulletin. Retrieved May 13, 2010 from http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081211/NEWS0107/812110432/10 41&nav_category=

Why I choose this title

It is an award winning book that deals with important issues that teens face every day: fitting in, racism, romance, friendship, etc. It also explores a culture of which few teens are knowledgeable or even really aware of.

13. It's Complicated: The American Teenager by Robin Bowman

Bowman, Robin. (2007). It’s complicated: The American teenager. New York: Umbrage Editions. ISBN-13:978-1-884167-69-0, p. 149

Genre: Nonfiction/Photography
Interest Age: 15+
Curriculum: NA

Reader’s Annotation

Through photographs and interviews, Robin Bowman shows the collective face of the modern American teenager.

Plot Summary

It’s Complicated: The American Teenager is a collection of over 100 photos and interviews conducted over a 5 year period. In her quest to capture the American teenager, Bowman traveled across the country from Santa Monica, CA to Sully, IA to Brooklyn, NY and everywhere in between; she met thousands of teens, finally interviewing and photographing four hundred and ninety teens between the of ages 13 – 19 from all socio-economic, cultural, religious, and ethnic background. She interviewed and photographed individuals, groups of friends, siblings, young families, and occasionally teens with older family members.

Teens were all asked the same series of questions including “What is one of the biggest things to happen to you and how did it change your life?”, “Tell me about your family”, “Do you believe in God?”, “Have you ever personally suffered from discrimination?”, “Have you ever experimented with drugs?” and “As you look ahead in your life what do you think you will become?”. Excerpts from the interviews accompany almost all of the photographs.

Critical Review

It’s Complicated: The American Teenager is filled with gorgeous photography (all black and white) and candid interviews. Many of the stories are heartbreaking. Many of the teens come from divorced homes or already have kids of their own. Many have faced discrimination, economic hardships and have battled drug and alcoholic addictions. But these stories are balanced out by numerous teens that come from middle class to very affluent society. What connects all these images and stories are common themes of faith, perseverance, love and hope for the future.

Many of the teen discuss religion. The first photograph and interview are of a 19 year old Muslim girl on the day of her wedding discussing how it wasn’t until after 9/11 that she became passionate about her faith. Interviews with groups of Hasidic Jews, Amish, Muslims, Christians and even one Voodoo priest show that while the media may play up the more materialistic, secular side of today’s youth, faith in something greater than themselves still plays a powerful role in the lives of many of today’s teenagers.

No subject had what one would define as a perfect life. Some of the teens’ struggles are more spiritual (i.e. trying to define who they are and what they want to do in their life) while other have much more tangible struggles with drugs, discrimination, poverty, family and crime. Ebony Wilson, age 15, is a member of the Bloods gang in the Bronx, NY but struggles with the keeping her young sister out of gangs and laments the lunacy of racism. Anastaizschzia, age 16, is on her own in Los Angeles, CA making her way as a hustler. Tup, age 17, lives on the streets of Philadelphia, PA and dreams of running an organic farm. Several teens live in areas like East L.A., Watts, or the Bronx where violence and gangs are a constant threat.

What makes the biggest impression is not the struggles these teens endure but the hope they still have. Even the most cynical of them have goals and things they want to accomplish. Each of the teens is filled with hope, depression, joy, anger, sadness, love and faith. Bowman captures all these conflicting emotions in each photograph.

Bowman states in her introduction that her goal was to discover the “American Teenager” and to have the reader “know these kids as [she] does”. She admits that in actuality, these are impossible goals. The book offers no definitive definitions or images that wholly encapsulate the essence of the modern teenager. But what the interviews and stunning black and white photography does give the reader is a sense of the vast similarities and diversities which make up the American adolescent experience.

Author Info

Robin Bowman majored in anthropology at Wheaton College and then studied photography at the Maine Photo Workshops. She current lives in Maine and works as a photo journalist. Her photos have appeared in numerous publications such as Berlin Journal, Fortune, Life, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Time, U.S. News and World Report, and People. She has traveled around the world “documenting social and political issues”.

“Robin Bowman: Biography”. (2005). Open Society Institute. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/movingwalls/13/bowman_bio

Book Talking Ideas

1. Who is the American Teenager? How would you define him or her?
2. What are some of the common themes and experiences that the teens share?
3. What do the settings say about the teens in the photos? Why do you think Robin Bowman chose to shot these teens where she did?

Challenges

No current challenges, but the interviews include candid statements about sex, drugs, religion, politics, racism, sexuality, and family. All of which can be controversial topics. There is a fair amount of profanity (the interviews are not edited) and there is one photo of a fully nude 16 year old girl (she’s a Naturalist). This book would definitely not be appropriate for a middle school library and I would be hesitant to place a completely uncensored version of it in even a high school library due to its content.

Why I choose this title

I wanted to include some nonfiction about today’s teens. The mix of interviews and photography makes this an interesting and involving read, different from a straight biography or nonfiction book.

11. Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole

Dole, Mayra Lazara. (2008). Down to the bone. New York: Harper Teen. ISBN: 978-0-06-084310-6. p. 351

Genre: Fiction/GLBT
Interest Age: 13+
Curriculum: NA

Reader Annotation

After being outed in front of her classmates, expelled from school and disowned by her mother, Laura must find a new family and a new place she can call home.

Plot Summery

Lauri is an average 16 year old Cuban American girl living in Miami, FL, until her Catholic nun teacher reads a love letter from Luara's girlfriend and "outs" her in front of her entire class. She is quickly ostracized by her friends and classmates for being a tortilleria (slang for lesbian), expelled from school, disowned by her mother and finally kicked out of her home. If that wasn't enough, Laura's love is quickly shipped back to Puerto Rico and quickly becomes engaged to man. Within a matter of weeks Laura's life goes from perfect to complete chaos.

Lauri moves in with her understanding and supportive friend Soli and her mother. Here she meets an eclectic mix of new friends, struggles to understand her own sexuality and redefine her definitions of family and home. All of this takes places within the Cuban American culture of Miami.

Critical Review

Mayra Lazara Dole paints a colorful gallery of diverse characters. Not only do these characters allow the reader to explore numerous GLBT issues like "coming out", family tensions, homophobia and prejudice, but the reader is given a window into Cuban American culture. Dole's writing is filled with Spanish (so much so that a Spanish glossary is included), and references to Cuban culture. Ultimately this is what distinguishes Down to the Bone from other GLBT, "coming out" stories.

Lauri's story isn't an unusual one: She is "outed" before she really even understands her own sexuality and feelings; she is is forced to confront homophobic teachers, parents, friends and co-workers; she struggles with reconciling her new life with the desire to return home and live the life she was "supposed" to live. Although the story has been done before and Dole occasionally lets the events descend into soap opera like melodrama, the Cuban/Miami backdrop and a collection of diverse characters who don't readily fit into stereotypes keep the reader engaged and thoroughly entertained.

The dialogue is fast and fun although for those readers who do not speak Spanish, it can be challenging at times. Even if the reader is not passionate about GLBT literature, Down to the Bone works equally as well as a story about Cuban American culture in Miami. It is interesting seeing a GLBT story told through a different cultural lens.

Author Info

Born in Havana, Cuba and currently living in Miami,FL, Mayra Lazara Dole has worked as a translator, drummer, dancer, landscape designer, hairdresser, Cuban chef and library assistant. She is the author two bilingual children's books including Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, Toca! (2003) and Birthday in the Barrio/Cumpleanos En El Barrio (2004) and one young adult novel Down to the Bone (2008). She also contributes to the various gay and lesbian magazines as well as other periodicals including Cipher Journal: A Journal of Literary Translation, Palabra: A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art, and Velvet.

Dole admits that Down to the Bone is slightly biographical as well as being inspired by her love of her "Cuban heritage/culture and a desire for Miami Cuban homophobia to be exposed so it can be discussed openly." She feels that writing for children and teens gives her a chance to "help change the world".

"Mayra Lazara Dole." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 May 2010.

Book Talking Ideas

1.
How was Lauri's "outing" at school in the beginning of the novel different from her proclamation, "I'm gay!" at the end of the novel? What were the affects of those events?
2.
How does Lauri's Cuban heritage affect her "outing"? How do different people in her life react to the letter?
3.
Even though they are both Cuban, how are Lauri and Soli's families different?


Challenges

There are no current challenges but books with themes of homosexuality are common targets for challenges especially when younger readers are involved. The novel deals with several GLBT characters and contains some profanity and homophobic slurs.

Why I choose this Book

The novel was nominated for ALA Best Reads for Young Adults 2009 as well as making the ALA's 2008 GLBT Round Table/ SRRT Rainbow List. I also liked the idea of a GLBT themed novel set in a culture different than my own.