Loved the ATDOAPTI

What I wasn't expecting from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian was that I would love it so much. I thought maybe it would be another typical coming-of-age book with gross humor and some preachy moral, but instead it had an authentically "teen" voice but with the wisdom of an old soul, and I got the feeling that the author truly experienced the events portrayed. What I loved best was the fact that Junior, for all of his physical shortcomings and disadvantages, never felt sorry for himself. As a reader, I wanted to cry at times, but his reactions to tragedies, great and small showed his true character. With at least one parent an alcoholic, and his entire clan living in deep poverty, the love generated in that small family was so pure and genuine, and broke just about every stereotype of a dysfunctional family. Junior's tolerance of abuse by other children, and even his best friend Rowdy show his capacity to love. I thought the illustrations added so much to the story, showing how he and his friends and family would like to be portrayed, and how they actually were. Another aspect of Junior I really found charming was his humility. Obviously he was very bright and athletic, but never felt compelled to brag. I was happy that the white students at Reardon became so accepting of him. I found the acceptance of the minority by the majority, and the minorities struggle with his own race to be a novel take on racism. I would expect the follow-up novel to ATDOAPTI to show trials and tribulations, which we would expect, but Junior always dealing with the world from his own unique perspective.