I'm not exactly a bookworm. Sure, I'll read for fun every once in a while, but most of the time when I open a book it's for an assignment. But that all changed when I picked up Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian after seeing a hilarious one-liner from the novel on Instagram. While the books I've been tasked with reading in English class often take me over a month to finish, I read the whole novel in just a day—and by choice!

Alexie's bestseller is just 288 pages, yet every word packs a punch. So here's what The Absolutely True Diary is all about, and why it just could be the book that gets you back to reading too.

The Basics

The main character, Junior Spirit, is a 14-year old aspiring cartoonist living on the Spokane Reservation in Washington. Junior makes the brave decision to enroll at Reardan, a wealthy and predominantly white school 22 miles away from his hometown of Wellpinit, after being encouraged to do so by Mr. P, a teacher who fears he won't realize his full potential if he follows his family's tradition of staying on the reservation.

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Attending high school in Reardan has its challenges, as Junior gets picked on by other students and lacks reliable transportation to and from school, often needing to hitchhike or even walk the full 22 miles. Junior uses cartooning as a creative outlet to process his thoughts and cope with challenges, which explains why the book is filled with amusing illustrations that highlight important characters and funny moments.

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A Part-Time Indian?

The novel's quite wordy title refers to Junior as a "part-time Indian," as he spends lots of time away from Wellpinit during the school week. Junior struggles with finding his identity as his family and upbringing are all located on the reservation, but many of his days are spent far from it.

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Junior's short-tempered best friend, Rowdy, protests his decision to switch schools and eventually cuts him off completely. Rowdy and many of the other Native Americans on the reservation see Junior's choice to go to school elsewhere as a betrayal and rejection of their culture, even accusing Junior of "loving white people" as he spends so much time with them.

It's interesting to watch as Junior discovers his identity and slowly begins to accept these two distinct sides of his life, even though he often doesn't feel truly at home in either. The other characters are also relatable and have a lot of depth to them. For example, star athlete Roger bullies Junior at first but goes on to show his nicer side becoming Junior's friend and teammate. And Mary, Junior's sister, is at first portrayed as a homebody who hardly leaves the basement yet she goes against that description with her impulsive move to Montana to get married.

Three Genres in One

Alexie's novel is semi-autobiographical, as the main character Junior is a reflection of a young Alexie. Junior's love for reading, his family's struggles with alcoholism, and the challenges he faces being Native American at a predominantly white high school all reflect the author's experiences growing up.

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The Absolutely True Diary also functions like a sports story in a few chapters, as Junior makes Reardan's varsity basketball team as a freshman. His season has its ups and downs, including heated matches against Wellpinit High, the school he originally attended, where Rowdy is the star player.

The book also takes inspiration from graphic novels, with Junior's frequent illustrations helping to represent important characters and provide comic relief in a story that can often be quite heavy.

Why Read The Absolutely True Diary?

A major appeal of this book for me was how authentic the characters felt. Junior's narration is raw and unfiltered, setting the novel apart from other stories told from teenage perspectives as Alexie truly nails the thought process of a teenage boy in high school. It feels like real life, not Disney—and I think that's largely thanks to how Alexie draws from his own experiences to put together Junior's story.

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I think the book also teaches an important lesson: encouraging you to see the positive in everyone even if they didn't leave the best first impression. Alexie's characters all have their flaws, but they also have positive qualities and are dealing with hardships of their own.

While Rowdy almost becomes an enemy to Junior later on in the story, he's also the same kid that once did anything to protect Junior from harm on the reservation. And while Roger, the stereotypical jock, calls Junior names at first and makes racist jokes about him, he later shows that he cares for Junior, discreetly giving him $40 after prom so he can afford to eat pancakes with them and giving him a ride so he gets home safe at the end of the night.

All in all, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book I think everyone should give a read. It's a gripping story with layered characters and sharp humor—and it could just teach you something new.