The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is my favorite book so far! I actually enjoyed reading it, maybe it was because I could relate to this book. I am an American Indian and every summer my family and I go to an Indian pow wow. This is where Indians gather and sell their creations and food. When I tell people that I attend these I usually get the comments like "Why would you go, was it dirty, what was it like" and then I would explain to them that I was Indian and that is what my family does! I am mostly Italian but have Indian in my blood. There are many stereotypes that Indians are poor and all they do is smoke and drink. This is seen in the book and also seen through my grandfather. He goes onto an Indian reservation every other month to buy Indian cigarettes, but he likes supporting his own kind. Yes most Indians are poor but they are so close to their families that there is a hard bond to break. Everybody works together to raise money, everybody shares the money that they make. This is seen when even though Juniors dad goes out and drinks he still makes sure to save money for Junior to look like he has money. With Rowdy and Junior they have a very close bond, but Indians get frustrated easily and thats why he got so mad when Junior told him that he was going. Yes, Rowdy should have gotten mad, but should have still been friends with Junior. He still lives on the rez, is still the same person, but just wants to better himself. The fact that he offered for Rowdy to go with him showed that he really cares about Rowdy. Alexie shows that they have adolescent behavior thought the language, cartoons, and comics. This is what makes this book such an easy read. It keeps your attention and also helps emphasize on the point he is talking about.
I agree this book was by far my favorite book in this class. It was a very easy read but it kept you interested the whole time. The cartoons like you said had a lot to do with thhat because it did keep your attention. I thought that Alexie did a great job relating to teenagers in this book. The use of his language and words reminded me of how my brothers talk. What Junior did was a very brave thing. Most kids his age would never dream of leaving their comfort zone. I think Rowdy in a way was jealous of him because he is just settling for the way he lives his life instead of bettering himself. Plus Rowdy lived with his father who was a complete drunk and never motivated him or showed any interest in him. I think that is so cool that you are Native American. You don't see that very often and the fact that your grandpa is still involved in his culture too is very neat.
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