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

This is a YA book that was recommended to me from a couple of different sources and sounded interesting. It's a fictionalized autobiography by Native American writer Sherman Alexie, focusing on his teenage years growing up on a reservation in Washington State.

I got a lot out of the story, which is mainly about a 14-year-old boy who gets in trouble at his high school on the reservation and asks to transfer to an all-white school more than 20 miles away. That is something Sherman Alexie himself did, and he draws mostly from his own experiences. This makes the main character's cultural reality come to life in a really accessible and personal way.

The bittersweet honesty and simple factual storytelling earned my sincere respect. It's a brisk read and very worth picking up. The audiobook is read by the author and the print version contains a lot of illustrations by the author, so either way you are getting something more than just the story.

What book should Rob read next?

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