Of course it was fictional and it was written for teenagers, but a lot of it spoke to larger universal topics. The basis of the story was that an Indian boy wanted to transfer to a school outside of the reservation because he excelled in his studies. The books revolves on the main character (i've forgotten his name since last year) dealing with leaving the reservation and how others (on both sides of the reservation) treat him as a traitor; his own didn't seem him as a Indian, but the White school saw him as an outsider as well.
Turns out this story is extremely autobiographical for Alexie. In this book he recalls many memories from his teenage years and accounts many instances of death, alcoholism, bullying, violence and you name it.... And while many read this book for enjoyment or pleasure (it, on it's surface, is highly comedic and entertaining; the book even has pictures and who doesn't like a book with good pictures?) there are dark, horrible realities just beneath the surface waiting for the reader to uncover them. This book does a great job at presenting the outside reader an account of living on a reservation through the eyes of the main character, who, despite all that happens to him, remains in a sort of innocent state.
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those in this class because it gives a lot for you to digest on. If you do read it, I would suggest doing it with another person so you could discuss and work through the issues that are presented for the protagonist.... or even blog about it... anything to cultivate what Alexie has presented through this YA Novel. Below, Alexie reads a snippet of the book and answers some brief questions. Stay tuned because he talks about everyone's favorite topic: boners.
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