This past week I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, and Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Although I’d been told by one of my instructors that his students really liked this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect, or how I would react.
Alexie deftly uses a combination of descriptive words and language, along with color photos of cartoon drawings, drawn by the main character/narrator to draw the reader into the world of this gangly teenager living on the Spokane Indian Reservation or “rez.” The story reads like stream of thought from a teenager, for example:
“And now I’m sure you’re asking, ‘Okay, okay, Mr. Hunger Artist, Mr. Mouth-Full-of-Words, Mr. Woe-Is-Me, Mr. Secret Recipe, what is the worst thing about being poor?’”
Yes, I can definitely believe a teenager would talk like this, and with humor, too!
A promising cartoonist, determined to take his future into his own hands, “Junior” leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Based on the author’s own experiences, this story is heartbreaking, funny and well written. I would recommend this book for 7-10th grade, and especially for young readers who find it hard to get into a book.
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, The final book in the Hunger Games series
This is the first time I’ve ever read an entire series, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! Bravo Suzanne Collins!
The final installment of this series was violent and thrilling at the same time. Civil war breaks out and the districts fight to break free of their chains.
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games – twice! She’ll never be safe again! The Capitol is angry! President Snow is angry and wants revenge! The story begins where Catching Fire left off, with the destruction of the arena, and proceeds through the development of Katniss as the Mockingjay – the living symbol for the revolution. There were several periods of confusion for me, as the reader, where I had to re-read some of the story to determine if it was real or a nightmare. A real rollercoaster and exciting adventure!
Peanut Butter Theater 
I often read the first book in a series so that I’ll be familiar with it and can booktalk it with my students, but I usually lose interest after one book. I recommended a couple of series to you on Twitter that are my favorites.
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Thank you! I’ll look into that – if I like the first one, I’ll usually like the rest of them, perhaps because I know/appreciate the pattern of the writing. That’s usually why people like television or movie series too!
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Possibly the strongest thing about the first book you mentioned is that it truly does seem like a teenager is writing it. It seems, also, that teenagers consequently would/will love the narrative. Not everyone can connect to the main theme – Native life – because not everyone is as exposed to it as we are near our reservation, but other themes are applicable, for sure.
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You are so right on! Even living near a reservation, it’s not easy to connect to life on the reservation – but I think that’s part of the theme – people who live off the reservation don’t understand the hardships.
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I read Sherman’s book last year. It was a deep and important book. I felt it breaks down barriers s and helps to give a much needed perspective into the life of Native Americans. If you are interested in reading my blog it on my wordpress blog. ed about it about a year ago in this blog.
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I could read more like this, great perspective, easy to read and relate! I bet the students would think the same thing!
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