Challenged Book Blog- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Part One
Book Information: Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York, Little, Brown And Company
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Grade Level: 7th-11th grade

Part Two
Thoughts About Issues Raised in the Book: This book has been deemed a controversial or challenged book for young adult readers due to some of the content it contains. I feel that the book discusses issues that young adult readers go through. YA readers have to deal with a lot, and having books that they can relate to is important for their development as readers and as young adults. The issues that have made this book "challengeable" are issues that teens deal with on a daily basis, so why not let them read about it and connect with a character who is dealing with the same issues?

Part Three
Critique: I think that this is a great YA book. The writing/language is not too difficult and it is easy to understand. I really liked that the author chose to include some illustrations. These illustrations really added to the novel, giving more description when needed. They are almost like doodles in a diary, which goes with the title. The book's themes are ones that students can connect with. Because the novel is based on the authors real-life, this makes the story all that more engaging and relatable.

Part Four
Lesson Sketch:
Grade: 9th
Lesson Objective: 
        Students will be able to:
               - analyze the main character of the story by completing an character study
               - journal about the characters actions/motivations/conflicts that occur in the story
               - share their own thoughts/feelings about the character
 Lesson Outline:
1. Teacher will assign chapter readings as homework for students to complete
2. After a chapter assignment, students will complete a journal entry based on the reading about the main character
3. The teacher will hold full-class discussions at random points in the book with students
4. Once students have completed the novel, they will complete the journal and the character study
5. The character study will by a 3-4 response to the character. This will include their response to the character, what they thought the character learned, and any other important information about the character

Question:
These could be used as journal prompts for the students to respond to in their character journals
1.Do you think that people label you with a stereotype? What is unfair about the stereotype?
2.Is this book just about Native-Americans or about American society as a whole?
3. Name some of the struggles Junior has had to deal with. Do you think he handled them well?
 4. Have you read other books with similar issues/topics?
5.Find a quote in the chapter/book that really spoke/stood out to you

Links to Outside Resources:
1. This is a good resource for teachers to use when teaching this novel. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/absolutely-true-diary-part-time-indian-storia-teaching-guide
2. Here is a short article about why the book is on the banned list http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/06/26/banned-books-awareness-absolutely-true-diary-parttime-indian/
3. Here is Sherman Alexie's personal webpage. http://fallsapart.com/