The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie

We notice the narrator explains that he is a budding artist and hopes to use his words to connect people. The narrator also explains the story of his friend Oscar. His family is too poor to afford vet bills so his father shoots the dog, because they are in poverty; this broke my heart. Junior and Rowdy seem to always have each other’s back. Rowdy seems to always protect Junior, which I found amazing. In Mr. P’s classroom Junior acts out when he sees his mother’s name in his textbook. He gets frustrated and throws the book around the room. Junior ends up wanting to move schools but his best friend, Rowdy is not okay with the idea. Which I wouldn’t be either if that was my best friend moving schools either. The reservation starts to get even more- angry when Junior decides to transfer to the white school. This is what makes me sad because best friends become more enemies. Junior meets the hot blonde Penelope and we also notice that the narrators name is Arnold. Arnold becomes so interested in Penelope and they start to become boyfriend and girlfriend, and she even knows Arnold is poor. One of my most favorite characters in this book is Gordy because he teachers Arnold how to read a book. This made my heart so happy because it takes a special person to do this for someone else, especially at their age. This is when Arnold starts to feel like a part-time Indian because he is part of this white school and also part of the reservation. Also, he has the courage to try out for the basketball team and makes the team. I liked this a lot because finally he felt a part of something great. Even though he did play his old school and he got bashed. Arnold still didn’t give up chasing his dreams which was something I cherished most about this book. This book was also sad for me by reading that Arnold faced a series of deaths in his family but he coped with it in the most amazing ways. I don’t know how a child that age could ever deal with what he did. This showed how strong he is and how much he cherished his life. The book ends by Arnold and Rowdy playing a one-on-one basketball game and they both decide that it is okay that Arnold transferred schools. Arnold then notices that he is a part of two great lives. This book was so eye-opening to me because you never know what students’ are struggling with in your classrooms. As a teacher you should always pay attention to your students’ backgrounds and their lifestyles.