Friday, September 27, 2013
BANNED BOOKS WEEK: Celebrate fREADom with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Celebrate the freedom to read THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie (2007)
Life is tough for Junior, a social outcast living on a
Spokane Indian reservation in Washington. Considered a weirdo, he is a not-so-proud
member of the “Blackeye-of-the-Month club.” Junior escapes his bleak
environment of poverty and alcoholism by reading comic books in his room. Junior also loves drawing and uses this talent
to make sense of the world. Frustrated
with the limitations of the rez, he enrolls in an all-white school. The backlash is
ugly but Junior is determined to forge his own path while balancing life in two
separate worlds.
Author Sherman Alexie approaches his first young adult novel
with the same candor and cynical humor I enjoy in his short stories. This novel was one of ten most challenged
books in 2012 due to “offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited
for age group.” The Absolutely True Diary also won the National Book Award for Young
People’s Literature in 2007, as well as other awards. Junior’s funny illustrations and sarcastic sense
of humor will appeal to teens facing the same issues of identity and
self-worth.
Darletha Matthews, South Branch Library
Labels: Banned Books Week
[permalink] posted by Memphis Reads : 9:00 AM
