The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Author:  Sherman Alexie, 2007, Little, Brown and Company

When you are an adolescent on an Indian reservation, born with fluid on the brain and wimpy in every way, you are an easy target for bullies.  That is exactly what Arnold Spirit (a.k.a. Junior) has faced all his life.  Junior is an Indian on the Spokane Indian Reservation.  He attends Wellpinit School, and if it wasn't for his best friend, Rowdy, Junior would have been decimated years earlier.  Rowdy is Junior's protector and shares a unique relationship with him.  In fact, the reader almost suspects some sort of "male crush" between Junior and Rowdy, but thankfully, that question is put to rest when Junior meets Penelope at Reardan High School.  After being told by one of his teachers at Wellpinit that he could do better, Junior breaks barriers by commuting (sometimes walking) to Reardan High School more than 20 miles away.  No Indian from the Spokane reservation has ever gone to school in the neighboring white community of Reardan, and because of his decision, Junior takes a lot of flack.  Throughout the story, the reader sees Junior's grit and determination as he carves his own path, leading away from his roots on the reservation, but also sadness due to excessive drinking and death.  This story aligns itself with what we know from studying history, but it gives a human voice to a real problem.

Honestly, I did not care much for the book.  I thought the language was crude and sometimes disgusting, and there was really no reason for that.  I believe the author could have told the story in a more informative and wholesome way.  From my perspective, the author attempted to be humorous, and I'll admit, I laughed on occasions; however, the majority of the story was not funny, and it was a lame attempt at humor.  The story basically reinforces every stereotype we have of Indians, including violence and alcoholism.  Instead of turning a blind eye to these truths as we so often try to do, this story forces us to understand exactly what the Native Americans face.  Overall, I am not sure that I would ever use this book as an instructional material.  In fact, I don't know what age group to whom I would recommend this book.  Students who find this book on the shelf will undoubtedly have questions, and that is where teachers can be of great assistance.

Yellow Star

Author:  Jennifer Roy, 2006, Marshall Cavendish Corporation

Yellow Star is another heartwrenching tale of an oppressed people overcoming adversity.  In this first-person account, a woman named Sylvia recounts her childhood as a Jew growing up in Poland during the second World War.  Sylvia is the name she took on as an American, whereas her birth name was Syvia.  Young Syvia and her mother, father, and sister, Dora, are forced to leave their home and relocate in Lodz, Poland, a Jewish internment camp when Syvia is five years old.  For the next five years, Syvia remained in hiding while her parents and sister worked, while narrowly escaping the clutches of Nazi soldiers who were searching for children.  Many of the Jewish children were sent to extermination camps under the guise of being taken care of by the Nazi government.  Due to the tireless efforts of her parents and only sister, Dora lives to see the rescue of her camp by the Russians, and her family is freed.  The author of this book is Syvia's niece, and she recorded her aunt's stories from telephone conversations and put them into a book.

I enjoyed this story because I consider it a primary source of history.  These words are straight from the mouth of someone who lived through one of the most horrifying times in the modern age, and they are a reminder to us of how evil people really can be.  I suggest teachers be mindful of the content and weight of this book before they assign it in their classrooms.  Seventh and eighth grades would be my ideal age suggestion, but one could easily extend that range into high school.  I definitely would not recommend this for any child under the seventh grade, simply because students need a concrete understanding of the events surrounding this time period, as well as the maturity that comes with older age.  Overall, this book was a somber account of a fairly recent occurrance, and it paints a picture of bleak optimism in a terrifying time.  

Weedflower

Author:  Cynthia Kadohata, 2006, Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Cynthia Kadohata takes her readers on a trip of sadness and heartbreak in the book Weedflower.  Twelve-year-old Sumiko and her six-year-old brother Tak-Tak live with their aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandfather on their flower farm in California.  Sumiko and Tak-Tak came into their relatives' care when their parents perished in a car accident.  Their family unit is very strong, and their main struggle is to fit in with the rest of the world.  That is not a big issue, however, until December 7, 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.  Suddenly, Japanese-Americans become the target of hostility, racism, and segregation.  Sumiko's uncle and grandfather are moved to a work camp in North Dakota, and the rest of her family, including Sumiko, are shipped to Poston, Ariz. where there is a permanent relocation site for Japanese.  As far as the reader knows, Sumiko never returns to her home in California; rather, she spends many days in Poston, then moves near Chicago.  During her time in Poston, Sumiko makes many friends, and it is sad when she has to leave them behind.  This was a time of great sorrow for Japanese-Americans as they were treated like baggage instead of human beings.

I loved this book from cover to cover.  When I started reading, I did not realize that the setting was December, 1941, so I had no idea what was ahead.  Sumiko struggles to fit in with her peers, but she finds steadfast love and friendship in Poston.  I was amazed by how caring Sumiko was to Tak-Tak.  Tak-Tak seemed innocent and trusting, and he followed his sister everywhere.  Through the heartbreak of losing their parents to being relocated in a concentration camp, Sumiko and her brother never seemed to lose hope in the future.  Honestly, I do not know if I would have been as calm as Sumiko had I been in the same situation.  Looking back, some of the greatest injustices in history were done to some of the most innocent people, and Weedflower documents a story of strength, trust, and determination through a time of injustice.  For that reason, I will always remember this book.    

Leon's Story

Author:  Leon Walter Tillage, 1997, Douglas and McIntyre, Ltd.

If you are looking for a heartbreaking piece of history, look no further than Leon's Story.  This book is told in first-person by a man named Leon.  Leon was born to a slave family in North Carolina.  The stories he tells about how white people treated southern blacks is disgusting.  From segregated public facilities, unequal education, and KKK (Ku Klux Klan) oppression--to death, submission, and finally, black equality, this book tells it all.  Throughout the book, the author twists the reader's heart by detailing horrifying events that happened to him or his family members.  Every part of this book is non-fiction, and that is the scary part.

I truly cannot imagine what black Americans endured in the 19th and 20th centuries in America.  Racism was born in the late-1800s as a means of creating unity, which seems terribly backwards.  By castigating people based on their skin color, religion, or ethnic background, members of a certain population became unified as the supreme race.  This certainly led to the circumstances in which African-Americans found themselves--circumstances that were absolutely despicable.

After reading this story, I am more aware of what "segregation" actually meant.  It was not only a means of making white people use one drinking fountain and while blacks used another one; it was, without a doubt, a death to people of color.  This story is not appropriate for young children, even though the book is relatively small.  I would recommend this for eighth graders and older, simply because of some gruesome details.  I will never forget old Leon, and I will never forget his courage in the face of one of America's darkest hours.