The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

First of all, this book is a fantastically quick read. I don't mean it is an "easy" or lame read. It is a quick read because it is gripping and compelling. The story pulls the reader into the life of Junior in such a way as to make the reader need to finish the story in order to understand how Junior copes with the challenges he faces.
As I was reading this book there were two thoughts that ran through my mind. The first thought was that I am ashamed of how little I know about the culture being described within the story. I was so happy to read this story and start to understand (in just the smallest measure) this culture through the eyes of an insider. I loved that because this book was written by an insider it could say things and approach ideas in ways that an outsider would not be able to do. The book was able to start show me, as a reader, what life inside the Spokane reservation and inside a primarily white school was like from a viewpoint that I would never be able to reach on my own. I was able to see the ideas so often thrown casually around regarding racism, abuse, and stereotypes at an angle that is new and eye opening to me. This book allows the reader to see into a the life of Junior without rose-colored lenses or pre-conceived ideas. The book is plain, blatant, straightforward, and commanding. It doesn't sugar coat or blow past any details of Junior's experience and I think that that is essential. It is easy to want to brush past uncomfortable ideas or look over them like they don't exist.  However, this type or reading or writing pays a disservice and isn't realistic, honest, or something that we can fully learn from.
The second thought that ran through my mind was, "Can I use this in a future classroom?"  My initial thought is...absolutely! However, there are a couple of pages that discuss some ideas that some parents, teachers, or administrators might be uncomfortable with having their students reading. As always, this would mean taking into consideration the student body, what they are able to cope with, and the desires of the parents behind those students. Part of me initially thought that some of the book could be censored. However, that leads to the reasoning that if something is in the book it is in there for a reason. Censoring a story means to hide some of the truth of it and that defeats the purpose of the book.