The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian

Alexie, S., (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian.  NY:  Little Brown.

Arnold Spirit, or Junior, is a teen who lives on an Indian Reservation.  He is often bullied by others and finds solace in his friend, Rowdy.  Junior is faced with several physical challenges brought about by Cerebrospinal fluid and that often causes the bully attacks.  Junior realizes that he will not be able to survive the attacks and finds little refuge in his school.  Junior decides to take on incredible risks by walking many miles to the predominately all white school off the reservation.  This confirms that Junior does not fit in. 

Junior finds himself contributing in the game winning basket for the opposing basketball team.  There are a myriad of issues that creep up including loss, alcoholism, poverty, and prejudices.  Junior must face his grandmother’s accident at the hands of a drunk driver, a family friend being shot in a drunken disagreement, and family loss after his sister and brother in law burn to death due to too much drinking.  Junior faces a great deal of adversity and somehow manages to find his place at his new school and rebuilding his friendship with Rowdy.

Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks of adapting to the physical body and learning about peer interactions is evident in this book.  Readers may also want to visit John Greene’s, Looking for Alaska or Eleanor and Park or Perks of being a wallflower.  Havighurst's Developmental Tasks of adapting to their physical bodies and learning to get along with peers might be served by offering this book to readers.