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

I decided to read this book because it is the 2011 selection for the One Maryland, One Book program, not to mention that my library colleagues have been talking about it for months and bugging me to read it!

It is categorized as Young Adult fiction but it is a semi-autobiographical book about author Sherman Alexie's experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. It is a pleasure to read about 14-year old Junior and his struggles to get out of the poverty of the reservation and away from the bullies who torment him.  The characters are real and honest. The author's description of the Indian Reservation took me to another world, one which I knew little about before I read this book. The book also includes cartoons drawn by Junior, which move the plot along and show a bit of the character's inner dialogue.

Bullying has been in the news a lot recently, which makes this book an even better choice for families to read together. It would be fun to read this with middle or high schoolers and get their impressions about Junior's experiences. You'll enjoy getting to know Junior and living in his world for a couple of days!