*Edit* 4 stars, down from 5. I originally gave this book a 5 but as I was thinking about it this morning, I realized that I wasn't that impressed with it. My inner dialoged was "well, I read it", not "what a great book! I'm so glad I finally read it! Why did I wait so long??". More like I had just checked it off my list.

*Another edit* 3 stars down from 4. Thinking back, I felt compelled to rate this high because Sherman Alexie is a Native American author and there was almost an expectation that I give this a high rating. Now I'm thinking that...I don't know...I feel that the book was not all that great. I read it and I've decided that I don't need/want to read anymore of his books.

I grew up on a reservation and so I was able to relate to many of the things he described, that's why initially I gave it a 5. I am more white than Native but my Reservation is home to two tribes that were traditional enemies. I went to a Catholic school on the other side of the rez so got discrimination as an Indian kid, a white kid and a kid from the enemy tribe! I didn't know any better, but it sucked. One thing that stands out to me now is that I was a rich kid by rez standards, but when I went to the white high school, I was a poor kid by white standards.

It was a fast read (for me anyway, it takes me forever to read books). It wasn't laugh-out-loud but there were enough moments and lots of things I think were "inside joke" funny. ( )

This is a very popular book that comes highly recommended from many quarters and it's strength is the voice of the main character, Junior, as he negotiates the two separate worlds he finds himself in. While I found some of the middle a big bogged down, but the eloquence of the end, the deep tragedies, and the complexity of the characters make this a very compelling book. ( )

It's been awhile since I have read a book that could make me laugh out loud, cry, get angry, feel depressed, and feel hope one after the other. ( )

Wow. I've always been a big Sherman Alexie fan and this may be my favorite book of his yet. Following the advice of Gordy, though, I have to read it two more times before I can really say I've read it. ( )

The Short of It:

Very powerful account of life on the reservation.

The Rest of It:

Alexie shares his very personal experiences as a fourteen-year old boy on the reservation. Raised by two loving parents, he and his sister were two of the lucky ones. Most children on the reservation are abused in some way by their alcoholic parents. Beaten, hungry, often left to raise themselves. To survive, they hang with the wrong crowd and sometimes end up dead.

Alexie was relentlessly bullied due to water on the brain that he suffered at birth. The name calling, playground fights, the boy gangs that went out of their way to look for him made him very cautious when it came to spending time anywhere. Pow Wows were fun with a friend but would he become a target? Every day was a struggle and honestly, even his best friend, known as Rowdy, sometimes gave him a beat-down. What an odd friendship that was.

What struck me about this book is how accurate the storytelling is. As you may recall, my son’s last job in Seattle was for one of the tribes on the reservation, and what my son detailed to me in the way of rampant drug use, abuse, run ins with CPS and the like. All accurate.

The tribes have an abundance of money and provide a lot of much needed services. My son drove me through an area full of heath care offices, mental health resources, and the like, but in all honesty they offer it but don’t push it. If someone is in need of help, it’s on them to reach out for it and everyone else turns a blind eye to whatever is going on, even a kid who hasn’t eaten for days. Hearing these stories from my son made me so angry. It’s no wonder he had to leave such a toxic place.

Alexie was tired of it all. He knew that he’d die if he stayed on the reservation so he convinced his parents to let him go to a school off site. This was a huge deal because everyone on the res felt that he abandoned them. His friend Rowdy took this especially hard even though Alexie begged him to come with him.

Going to a predominately white school had its own problems but the teachers seemed to see past the Indian right into the person Alexie was. Alexie was smart. Brain damaged or not, he had something. His teachers saw it and some made it their goal to make something of him.

As you know from his accomplishments, Alexie is a highly regarded writer. I listened to part of this on audio and it was quite riveting. I highly recommend it. There is a lot to pick apart. We will be discussing this for book club this month. ( )