This is the best book I have read in a long time. I mean it, this is a truly great book, and I think everybody should read it, right now. Stop reading this and go find the book. It's way better.

There are parts which are positively hilarious and parts which will break your heart into a million, delicate pieces. Often times Alexie manages to achieve both things within the same heartbeat. I've never read anything like this book, and that statement, in and of itself, is surprising.

The story is about Arnold "Junior" Spirit, a young Spokane Indian. Junior writes (and draws, by the way. The book is full of cracking cartoons by Ellen Forney) about his family, his friends, and life on and off the reservation. In the main, the book is about his decision to attend the white high school in nearby Reardan for his freshman year, rather than stay at the Reservation school. The resulting conflicts of identity and culture are familiar to anyone who's ever been in a high school, but are articulated in a completely fresh voice.

For all of us who have ever tried to make something of ourselves, especially against the odds and influence of the surrounding world, this book is something of a touchstone. Despite his unique personality and setting, Arnold Spirit is a classic American character sharing a decidedly American story. His is an underdog story, for certain, and it is made all the better because Alexie refuses to sugar-coat the trials he undergoes while making his life better than it was supposed to be. ( )

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian is told from the perspective a 14-year-old boy and thus it is a quick, breezy read. It is in turns very funny and very tragic. Our protagonist Arnold is an intriguing character, an Indian, born with severe health problems, who goes off the reservation to attend a white high school. Finding himself to be an outsider in both worlds, Arnold goes through many trials and travails until he finds a way to bridge that divide and become accepted in both worlds. The fantastic cartoons by Ellen Forney enhance the book and the story terrifically. Part-Time Indian is a very good book, fun, entertaining, thought-provoking, that showed to me a world of which I have very little knowledge. ( )

*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. ( )