Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. I just finished reading a really great book: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie with artwork by Ellen Forney. It's a sad and funny bildungsroman about a teenage basketball player/cartoonist who leaves "the rez" to go to a white school. The book received rave reviews, and even won a National Book Award.
Part-Time Indian is peppered with sardonically funny drawings, philosophical quotes, and "top 9" lists. Here are some of my favorites:
"I used to think the world was broken down by tribes . . . By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are _ssholes and those who are not."
Favorite books:
1. The Grapes of Wrath
2. Catcher in the Rye
3. Fat Kid Rules the World
4. Tangerine
5. Feed
6. Catalyst
7. Invisible Man
8. Fools Crow
9. Jar of Fools
If you share a fondness for any of the titles listed above, you will love The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
