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librarydoc's review against another edition
4.0
Arnold Spirit, better known as Junior, knows what it means to struggle. Born with hydrocephalus (water on the brain), he was prone to seizures in childhood. He was bullied and targeted for his looks and disabilities. His home life wasn’t much better, living in abject poverty with an alcoholic father and an overworked mother.
Junior realized that remaining on the Spokane Indian reservation would result in more of the same...hunger, poverty, a dead-end job, and little or no education. So he makes a difficult decision that forces him to leave his lifelong best friend and all he knows behind. He transfers to the local white school over 20 miles away.
With no car, limited assistance from his family, and no money, Junior has to figure out how to not only get himself back adn forth to school, but also to practice for the basketball team for which he was unexpectedly chosen.
Junior faces great challenges in his life. He teaches us to respond to challenges with bravery, humor, and grit.
This book is a strange and wonderful mixture of narrative and verse poetry, along with cartoon illustrations. It deals with issues of racism, discrimination, bullying, and poverty with humor and finesse. Alexie doesn’t tiptoe around the issues, he deals with them head on. He also addresses common teen experiences such as masturbation, drug use, and alcohol.
gigilovescats's review against another edition
I just finished it for school (we started it in September) and I think that it’s a good book to read for school. I hope the other kids became more empathetic after it
authenticallyalexandra's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
taggerung's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
happylilkt's review against another edition
A good friend of mine died of complications from hydrocephalus, so I appreciated this book's drawing more awareness to that condition.
Contains bullying, racism, alcoholism and abuse, masturbation.
No rating because I didn't get deep enough into it.
Contains bullying, racism, alcoholism and abuse, masturbation.
No rating because I didn't get deep enough into it.
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
So short, but so powerful. I can't believe the amount of times I walked past this book in numerous libraries and never picked it up!
librarylandlisa's review against another edition
4.0
Listening to Junior describe his life on and off of the reservation as a teen indian was great. I really loved the good and sad moments in this book about life for one Spokane Indian teen. It was suprising to hear that this book was published not so long ago as it seems our culture would be past racist remarks like he hears from classmates. Sometimes the truth (or truth-ish) is a sad realization that much in our world needs repair.
camilliant's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
lovelyloro's review against another edition
4.0
Wow... I don't even know where to start. First I can't even remember the last time a book had me laughing and crying at the same time. I was really touched by this story. It had a prevailing theme of the human will or ability to create hope and then ultimately triumph. It was absolutely fantastic!