The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Published in 2007, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has become something of a modern classic. It's the semi-autobiographical story of Arnold Spirit (almost the same initials as Sherman Alexie) who makes the difficult decision to leave his school on the reservation and attend the mostly white high school in Reardan, 22 miles away. His community see him as a traitor, his new school mates see him as a misfit, but gradually, mostly with the traditional mechanisms of fisticuffs and sport, he becomes accepted.

There are plentiful illustrations, Diary of a Wimpy Kid style (ooh, apparently they were published the same year! interesting...) but the content is much darker. There are deaths on the reservation, none from natural causes, Arnold's parents are alcoholics, and they are so poor that often they can't afford to pay for petrol to drive him to school. The toughness of the material is made bearable by Arnold's ironic, self-deprecating style, the humour of the drawings, and the loose, readable printing -- short chapters, lots of space on the page. No wonder it's a hit with reluctant readers.

It was disappointing to discover that Alexie is yet another author whose personal behaviour has come back to bite him, though at least he seems to have been willing to apologise and try to make amends. I really don't want to have to cancel this one!