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

'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 

Arnold Spirit Junior has never had much luck in life. He was born with too much cerebral spine fluid in his skull (or as he puts it 'water on my brain') that has left him with brain damage, one near-sighted eye, one far-sighted eye, huge hands and feet, being super skinny and having forty two teeth. Junior has already been beaten up by the other kids (and adults) of his reservation and things get worse when he gets expelled from school after throwing a book at his maths teacher.

Following the advice of Mr P he goes to school at Reardan (a school for rich white kids). Not only has he betrayed the tribe (and lost his best mate, Rowdy, in process), he has to put up with being even more of an outsider then he was before. However, at least now he is surrounded by people who have hope in life. Junior surprises himself when he impresses the most popular boy in school, gets a girlfriend, gets in the basketball team and makes friends.

Through the words Junior says and cartoons he draws, this books teaches you to never give up, always have hope and dream big. I really enjoyed this book as it taught me to never give up hope. I would not recommend this book to anyone under the age of twelve as the language and storyline can be upsetting.

First published at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2011/sep/22/part-time-indian-sherman-review?INTCMP=SRCH