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

“If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.”
 
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition, 2007)

Genre: General/Realistic Fiction 

Honors:  National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2007), School Library Journal Best Book of the Year (2007), American Indian Library Association Award, South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2008) Florida Teens Read Nominee (2009), American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book (2008), Horn Book Fanfare (2007), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2008), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry (2008), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2011), James Cook Book Award Nominee (2009) [Honors Information found at Goodreads.com]

Review: Both heart breaking and heart warming at the same time, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian is a moving story of Junior who was born with minor disabilities making him a target on the Indian Reservation where he grew up. After taking some advice from a burnt out teacher Junior decides to go to a "white" school off the reservation. Indians on the reservation take this as a betrayal, including Junior's long time protector and best friend Rowdy. Feeling like an outcast on both the reservation and his new school Junior must deal with extreme poverty, numerous deaths of loved ones, and high school. His sheer tenacity to take tackle his problems head on rather then succumb to the darkness that seems to surround his life makes this novel very special and uplifting.

Opinion: The illustrations really help move this story along, but the story can really carry itself. I first listened to it on audio and had no idea that there were illustrations.  I really liked this books and it was one of my favorites that I read for this project.

Ideas: This is a great book to give to any teen: boy or girl. Would be great to recommend to a  reluctant reader. The story is humorous and the illustrations help move the story along.

One of the many illustrations in the book