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.
Learning in the Age of the Trigger Warning
11 years ago
I do not think that your life was boring at all. It just sounds ‘sheltered” and I mean that in a good way. Kids see show much now growing up that not even an adult should so I would say that you’re pretty blessed. The part about your daily routines sounds peaceful compared to mine went like this: 1)wake up, 2) get dressed, 3) walk to school, 4) after school go to tennis practice, 5) dance practice, 6) my full time job at Wendy’s as a manager, 7) go homework, 8) get ready for the next busy day. Compared to that I think your sounded lovely!!! The thing that happened with your parents sounds pretty hard. I really admire your strength for going through that and also your courage for talking about it in your blog. I love to read but I have never read a teen novel like the one ours would be but it would be a good read because it’s different. As far as being the “goodie good’ girl there is nothing wrong with it. There are so many “bad girls” you should wear your nickname proudly, because I have heard worse. Maybe if you really to write that novel you could an alter ego like a bad girl. In the day time you could be “Goodie Girl” and when the sun goes down you turn into “The Bad Girl”. You could be a super hero who fights marriage separations and divorces! It sounds like a good cartoon idea too!
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