Plot
Description:
Arnold Spirit was born with water on the brain, making him
somewhat more susceptible to head trauma than most kids. He is a loser on
the Spokane reservation where he lives and goes to school. This is why
Arnold decides to change school and go the white school the next town over,
Reardan. When Arnold tells his best friend Rowdy his plan to go to school
in Reardan, Rowdy ends their friendship. Rowdy is not the only one on the
reservation mad at Arnold for leaving either, most of the reservation thinks he
is turning his back on his people, that he wants to be white.
At first Arnold is an outcast at his new school and sticks
out as the only Indian, but soon he has made several friends. This is the
first time Arnold has friends and feels like he belongs somewhere. Arnold
does not believe it can get any better when he makes starter on the varsity
basketball team. However, while Arnold’s school life is wonderful, life
on the reservation is not. Arnold’s family is poor and sometimes that means
he has to hitchhike or walk the 30 miles to school. Arnold’s father has a
drinking problem, like many of the Indians on the reservation. Alcohol
brings a lot of grief to Arnold’s life. Arnold’s grief encourages him to
strive for a future outside of the reservation.
Review:
It may seem like Arnold is ashamed of
being an Indian at times in this book, that is certainly what his tribe thought
of him, but Arnold saw the reservation not as a way to hold onto his culture,
but as what the reservation was originally intended to be, a prison. As
Arnold points out in his story the government originally moved Indians to the
reservations as a punishment, a way to keep track of them and make sure they
were not consorting with white citizens. Arnold still sees the
reservation this way, everyone who lived on the reservation was poor and the
schools on the reservation were bad as well. Arnold is not ashamed of
being on Indian, but he refuses to be put at disadvantage because he is
Indian. Arnold has just as much of a right to a good education as any
white kid and in recognizing that Arnold starts a journey of self
discovery. Alexie’s humorous story paired with Ellen Forney’s cartoons
brings this book to life and reminds me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid for teens.
Genre:
Multicultural Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Reading
Level/Interest Level:
Grades 7 and up
Similar
Books:
Looking for Alaska John Green
Awards/Honors:
American Indian Youth Literature Award, 2008
Cybil Award, 2007 Young Adult Finalist
National Book Award, 2007 Winner Young People’s Literature
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Author’s
Website:
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