Why you should read "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"

Dear young person,

I believe you should read the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by author Sherman Alexie because it portrays the life of an adolescent Indian boy who lived in a very poor Indian reservation that overcame all the adversity that was thrown at him. The main character, Arnold "Junior" Spirit, is born with brain defects which causes him to have a few physical abnormalities, such as large feet. He is teased by many Indians within the reservation, some offenders being adults, which causes him to be afraid of the outside world. He does, however, have a best friend who is the baddest and toughest kid of the reservation named Rowdy, ironic huh? Rowdy and Junior do every activities together ranging from sports to attending the local powwows. Eventually Junior feels as if the reservation is holding him back because he is told by one of his teachers that he has the potential to be great. Junior decides to transfer to a nearby town's high school, Reardan High School, which is filled with many white kids who have either never seen an Indian or are prejudice against them. Eventually, Junior becomes one of the most popular kids at the white high school through his courage, determination, and optimism. You can say that because of attending Reardan, Junior achieved more that he would have at the reservation. But that is not the point.

The book shows that a kid who grew up fearing everything around him, also very dirt poor, still found happiness by taking a very courageous risk by going against his reservation and attending a "white" school. He ended up dating the hottest girl at the school and also befriended the schools toughest jock, which is unusual because on their first encounter they got into a fist fight. Arnold never gave up and persevered through all of the hard-balls life threw at him because he had something called hope. All the things he hoped for all became a reality once after attending Reardan. By believing in himself he was able to achieve happiness. Not only did Arnold have hope, but he inspired those around him to go out and reach for their dreams. Who knows, maybe this book can influence and motivate you to achieve greater things in life.