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

Junior is an outsider in every way. The kids on the reservation don’t like him because he’s skinny, wears super thick glasses, and just transferred to a white school off the reservation. The kids at the white school don’t like him because he’s an Indian and he lives on the reservation. As Junior navigates these and other obstacles—family, poverty, death, alcoholism—in the process of making a better life for himself, he writes it all down in his Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Set in a Native-American reservation near Spokane, Washington, Junior tells his story of growing up as an outsider in both the Native-American and white worlds with humor, insight, and illustrations. Beautifully written with a colorful cast of characters and an entertaining and poignant storyline, this book is highly recommended for adults and young adults in a public or school library setting.

Awards

2010 California Young Reader Medal
2009 International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Peter Pan Prize
2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

Learn More

Learn more about Sherman Alexie and his other books on his website.  You can also follow his blog, friend him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

To learn more about Ellen Forney, the illustrator of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, visit her website where you can browse her illustrations, see what else she's been working on, or send her an email.

Watch Alexie read an excerpt from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and answer questions about the book below:

One of Alexie's most well-known works is the award-winning movie Smoke Signals, which is based on Alexie's collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  Watch a preview for Smoke Signals below:

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Illus. Ellen Forney. New York: Little Brown, 2009. Print.
9780316013697; Paperback; $10.00, 288 pages

Also available in hardback, ebook, and audiobook formats.