Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live on an Indian reservation? The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is about a teenage boy named Arnold Spirit, who lives on an Indian reservation called Wellpinit. Arnold has a very skinny torso, arms and legs but huge hands and feet. He gets picked on a lot by all the other Indians on the reservation except one whose name is Rowdy, Arnold's best and only friend. Rowdy protects Arnold from getting beat up too much by the other Indians. Arnold lives with his mom, dad, sister and grandmother. His mom and dad are alcoholics when they are not at work. His sister stays in the basement all day and his grandmother does what she wants to do. It sounds like things are going ok for Arnold but suddenly one thing ruins it all. His friendship with Rowdy is destroyed and makes everyone in Wellpinit dislike him even more. What was the cause of Arnold's downfall? Will Arnold and Rowdy rekindle their friendship?

Alexie's book is funny and deep at the same time. One of my favorite funny parts of the book is when Arnold says he looks like a capitol L when he walks down the street because of his huge feet. Another one I like is when he shows a drawing of Rowdy that he drew that is scribbled out because Rowdy doesn't like to be drawn. Arnold's pictures add a creative aspect of their own to the story showing what he is feeling o telling a funny story. This book is also sad because Arnold is the poor kid and nobody likes him. This book is written as if you were Arnold Spirit. Alexie does a good job of helping the reader feel Arnold's emotions. When his grandmother, sister and his dad's best friend died, Sherman Alexie made me feel his pain that he had just lost a big part of his life. Throughout the book, the reader sees how Arnold becomes a stronger person physically and mentally because of his tough times. I would recommend this book to teenagers because they would laugh and also see how sad things happen in everyones lives and how it can change a person, sometimes for the better.