My Young Adult Novel?

In the Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie seems to have a good grasp on adolescence because he incorporates some of his own experiences as a young adult into the work. Overall, I would say that this novel represents most, if not all of what I think a teen goes through in those troubling years and I think teens today can really relate to this.

If you were to ask me to do what Alexie did with this novel, I don't think it would turn out to be a read that would grasp readers in a universal sense. What would my young adult novel be about? Well, if I were to write one, I would start by recalling my own adolescence. And when I think about it, I can only recall that my teenage years were pretty boring. I went to an all black school so I didn't face the racial problems Junior encountered at Reardan. I was never bullied in school like Junior because people thought I was too nice to be bullied. I was known as the "goodie, goodie" girl. I was quiet, I only had a handful of friends, I was an honor student, and I tried to stay out of as much trouble as I possibly could. I never had trouble in relationships like Junior, because although I was viewed as the most quiet and goodie person, I was also looked at as one of the more pretty. A typical day for me would be: 1) get up, get dressed 2) catch the bus to school 3) come home from school 4) do homework 5) watch t.v. or go outside 6) go to bed. Pretty boring, huh?

I suppose my young adult novel could be titled "A Day in the Life of the Goodie, Goodie." In the novel I would talk about the 6 things I just mentioned. But if I wanted to universalize my experience, I'd talk about my relationship with my parents or my relationship with my twin sister. My parents had gotten a divorce when I was 7, my dad left and moved into an apartment and our relationship never became much of one as I recall. My mother went from being a Christian to a Buddhist after. Maybe that is why my parents got divorced because dad is a Jehovah's Witness. My sister and I were close until she started changing when we were about 14. She started hanging out with the wrong crowd. She had to go live with my dad when we were 15 because she and my mom would fight often. I suppose teens could relate to this kind of stuff. Maybe I should write a young adult novel.

Diary of a Part-Time Indian

As we discussed in class, this novel was a much easier read than the previous core readings of the course. This story was touching and what was really good about it was the main character, Junior's, perseverance. When he first left the reservation, he was taking a major step in proving not just to his peer but to the world that Native Americans were not who everyone said they were; that Native American were just as capable as any other. Junior's decision to go to an all white school, in my eye's is a protest to the oppressed state that Native Americans had been in for a long time. It reminded me of the struggle of the African American and the well known advocates of equality such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. who said "enough is enough, I'm taking a stand, and I'm not taking no for an answer." Junior was in a sense like these individuals. He wanted to experience life outside of the reservation, which was a place really of torture the Native Americans were forced to live on. Junior was carrying the burden of the entire Native American race, and although he was afraid, and had health problems, a speech impediment, low self esteem,no friends, and no one to back him up, he was determined to stick that thing out. That type of attitude is admirable and just speaks to me, because I'm reminded again of the African American. I have heard many stories from grandparents and great grand parents about the courage, persevere and determination they had in a raciest, discriminatory, segregated, prejudice society, just like Junior. I believe that if you face something with courage and with a mindset that you already have the victory...everything will work out. And that is exactly what Junior did, inspite of the hatred he faced, inspite of the physical opposition and so forth. It was hard, but you have to go through some things to see the other side.