Challenged and Banned Books: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Bibliographic Data

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.

Summary

Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, is a Spokane Indian living on the reservation when one of his teachers tells him he has to get out of the reservation or he will die there. Arnold tells his parents that night he wants to go to the all-white, “rich kid” school 22 miles away from the reservation. When he starts attending his new school, his community back in the reservation treat him as a traitor, and make sure he knows how unhappy they are with him. Feeling stuck in two worlds, Arnold tries to navigate living in two very different worlds.

Critical Analysis

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has been challenged for several reasons. Some of the reasons it has been challenged is because it has offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, anti-family, drugs and alcohol use and abuse, violence, and unsuited for age group. While it’s true this book has all of those things, I don’t feel they are overly explicit in the use of those challenges. I also feel they are warranted because they add to the story. Without them, Arnold wouldn’t be truly understood by the reader. They make Arnold feel and sound like a read person that is struggling with his identity and his differences at home and at school. One weakness is the story kind of drops certain characters towards the end. The way it came full circle with Rowdy was nice, but the rest of the story kind of felt like it ended quite abruptly.

Creative Activity

Because this is a banned book, after reading students could debate the reasons why it has been challenged in the past, and argue whether they feel those challenges were warranted or not. They can also create a court room scenario where they have one side as defendants for the book and one side as the plaintiff, the parent challenging the book. The rest of the class can be the jury and they can have a trial to determine if the book should be taken off the shelves or not.

Related Resources

Wonder is a similar story of one trying to find their place in a new world. August, who has a facial deformity, decides he doesn’t want to be home schooled anymore when entering the 5^th grade. This story is similar to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian since both characters are having to navigate their way in a new world, and new school.

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.

Students can learn more about the Spokane Indian Tribe while through their website.

Spokane Tribe of Indians: Children of the Sun. Spokane Tribe If Indians, 2016. Web. 24 June 2016.

Published Review

"The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Review." Booklist Online. N.p., Aug. 2007. Web. 24 June 2016.

Award Winners: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Bibliographic Data

Green, John. Looking for Alaska: A Novel. New York: Dutton Children's, 2005. Print.

Summary

Miles (AKA Pudge), is a loner when leaves his home in Florida to go to a boarding school in Alabama hoping to find his “Great Perhaps.” Once there he begins to make friends. One of those friends is a girl named Alaska that he quickly falls in love with. Written as “before” and “after,” you see how Pudge begins to change, and how he will never be the same “after.”

Critical Analysis

Looking for Alaska won the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in 2006. I believe this was a very well deserved award. The Printz Award is given to the author that is not only written well, but has a true voice. I believe we see that in Pudge’s story. Moments in this story aren’t glossed over. Pudge deals with the pressure to smoke and drink (to which he falls in step with the others quite quickly), with the want to fit in, and the uncertainty of life. Will that girl like me? Am I going to get in trouble because I’m messing up at school? And the hardest question of the book, did I kill my friend by letting her go? John Green takes a very real seeming person in Alaska and makes the reader feel the sadness and guilt over what happens to her.

I think both males and females alike will like this story. Males will enjoy it because they can see themselves in Pudge. A lonely kid, without friends, trying to make his way in a new school and make friends. Along with making friends, he’s trying to navigate having feelings for a girl for the first time. I think many males will relate or find relatable moments within Pudge’s story. I think girls will like it because Alaska is a compelling character, and you want to know more about her story. As the reader, you are definitely taken along for the ride.

I don’t see many weaknesses to this story. I know some teens will see the ending as a weakness because we never find out what happened to Alaska. I think many teens (and adults) want to know all the answers to all of the questions. The biggest one is was it an accident, or was it a suicide. The not knowing is hard, and I think many teens would criticize the not knowing. I do wish we had more back story on Pudge to know why he was such a loner. We hear him tell one story, his worst day ever, but did he not have friends before? As a reader I wanted to know more about him to understand where he was coming from.

Overall I think this was a very well written book. I think many teens will be able to relate to this book because the characters in the book are dealing with sadness, loss, the want to fit in with others, the pressure to drink and smoke, etc. I think many teens will enjoy this Printz Award winner.

Creative Activity

Pudge loves learning the last words of famous people. When asked why he loved last words he said, “But a lot of times, people die how they live. And so last words tell me a lot about who people were, and why they became the sort of people biographies get written about” (Green 128). Students could create last words for their favorite fictional characters and explain why those last words would tell about who they were and how they lived. They could even create last words for themselves, again explaining why those last words tell about them and how they lived along with how they hope their lives turn out.

Related Resources

As the book goes on, the students begin to drink, and some to excess. While many teenagers would blow off having to hear about addiction and substance abuse, this could be a good resource for students to learn more about addiction and how they can be helped if needed.

"Prevention in Teens." The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

Part of the mystery of the story is what happened to Alaska on that fateful night. We never find out whether it was an accident or a suicide, but Pudge and Colonel definitely talk about the potential for her killing herself. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention would be a great site for any students who are contemplating suicide, or know someone who might. It also has a lot of great resources to help people understand what’s going on and signs you can look out for.

"Home - AFSP." AFSP. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, n.d. Web. 20 June 2016.

Published Review

Glantz, Shelley, and Julie Scordato. "Looking For Alaska." Library Media Connection 24.3 (2005): 66-67. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 June 2016.

Classics: Lord of the Flies

Bibliographic Data

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.

Summary

A group of English boys find themselves stranded on a deserted island when their plane crashes. They decide they need to have rules with which to live by to be civilized, just like adults would do. However, the rules and civilized manner with which they had planned to live by quickly falls away as they splinter into two groups. What follows is their adventure as they try to stay alive while waiting to be rescued.

Critical Analysis

Lord of the Flies is a classic piece of fiction that can be used as a cautionary tale for civilization versus chaos. Because there is no date given to the story, just a mention that a war was breaking out, the story could take place any time as a different take on what could happen if civilization were to start over (even if that civilization is a group of kids stranded on an island). Many current books have been published with a dystopian background (The Hunger Games, Maze Runner) which makes this story feel more modern.

One weakness is the language used could confuse younger readers. The characters use British slang, and some of the terms used could confuse readers that aren’t good at making inferences. Because of the way the characters speak and the words that are used, this would be better suited for high school students who have had more practice inferring and working their way through difficult conversations or passages.

This book would be a great start for classrooms to discuss government, its place in our society, and the pitfalls of having a government, and not having any government at all. Those interested in dystopian stories, as well as those that are interested in survival stories would enjoy this take on what could happen if you were stranded on a deserted island.

Creative Activity

While on the island, they use Piggy’s glasses in order to start their fires. They don’t ever try a different method, even after one of his lenses breaks. One activity that could be done in science class is students could research different ways to start a fire in the wilderness. They could then use the information they have about what they boys had at their disposal to see if it would have been possible for those boys to create fire without his glasses. Students could even try to make fire using those methods.

In social studies or history class, students could have a discussion about the different types of government and how they relate to the different groups that were formed on the island. They could create a venn diagram comparing the different types of “government” on the island and discuss which one they view is the best for long term success.

Related Resources

Beautiful Darkness is a take on a fairy tale in graphic novel form. The characters are thrown into a wild forest and are left to fend for themselves. Similarly to Ralph, the main character Aurora struggles to keep morality and order together while they figure out how to live in this new land.

Vehlmann, Fabien, Kerascoet, Marie Pommepuy, and Helge Dascher. Beautiful Darkness. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly, 2014. Print.

You could visit William Golding’s website to learn more about him, the books he has written, along with a timeline of his life and more information about his books.

William Golding. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2016. < http://www.william-golding.co.uk/ >

Published Review

“LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding. Kirkus Reviews.” Kirkus Reviews. N.p., 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 June 2016.