The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Junior says he draws because 'words are too unpredictable' and 'words are too limited.' But the novel itself is made of words and drawings together. How does Alexie use the two forms differently — what can a cartoon do that the prose can't, and vice versa?

The thirty-year-old textbook with Junior's mother's name in it is the single event that causes Junior to transfer schools. Why does this specific object work as a catalyst, when years of poverty and difficulty haven't?

Mr. P confesses to Junior that he participated in programs designed to destroy Native culture. Then he tells Junior to leave the reservation. Is his advice redemptive, self-serving, or both?

Rowdy calls Junior an 'apple' — red on the outside, white on the inside. By the end of the novel, is Rowdy's accusation proved right, proved wrong, or proved inadequate as a category?

Three people Junior loves die in the novel's second half — Grandmother Spirit, Eugene, Mary. Alexie gives each death almost no narrative buildup. Why? What is the effect of sudden, undramatic death in a novel about reservation life?

Junior punches Roger on his first day at Reardan, using 'reservation logic' — and it works. He then has to learn that different rules apply at Reardan. What does this moment tell us about code-switching, and who is responsible for knowing multiple sets of rules?

Penelope is bulimic. Junior is food-insecure. Alexie places these two forms of hunger in the same narrative. Is he equating them, contrasting them, or doing something more complicated?

Alexie dedicated this novel to his father. Junior's father is an alcoholic who loves his family and regularly fails them. What does the dedication ask us to hold in mind while reading the father's character?

The novel's title says 'absolutely true' and its genre is listed as fiction. Alexie has confirmed it's largely autobiographical. What does it mean to fictionalize a true story about your own marginalized community — what do you gain, and what do you risk?

The Reardan school mascot is a Native American warrior, and Junior is the only actual Native American in the school. Alexie treats this as darkly funny. Should it be funny? What does humor do with injustice that outrage can't?

Junior makes a list of reservation people who have died because of alcohol. He stops at forty. Why does the list form — rather than narrative — matter here? What can a list do that a story can't?

Gordy says that loving what you learn is what makes education work. The reservation school presumably has teachers who know their subjects. What does the reservation school lack that Reardan has — and who is responsible for that lack?

The novel is frequently banned for language, sexual content, and 'anti-family' content. It's also frequently assigned as the representative text about Native American experience in schools. What is the relationship between a book being banned and a book being required reading?

Mary starts drawing cartoons in Montana after Junior begins drawing at Reardan. The novel presents art as contagious. Is this hopeful, tragic, or ironic, given that Mary dies before she develops the practice?

Junior and his father's conversation about turtles after Mary's death contains almost no direct mention of Mary. How does Alexie use indirect dialogue to convey grief — and why might this be more emotionally true than a scene of explicit mourning?

Reardan wins the first basketball game against Wellpinit; Wellpinit wins the second. Junior feels guilty about the first victory and nothing specific about the second loss. What is Alexie doing with the reversal — and does it resolve the moral problem of Junior playing for the 'other' team?

Alexie is sometimes criticized by other Native American writers for writing a book that makes white audiences comfortable with its humor. Is that a valid critique? Can you write about your community's suffering with humor without betraying the suffering?

Junior describes belonging to 'many tribes' by the end — the Spokane tribe, the tribe of artists, the tribe of the poor. Does this framework resolve the identity conflict the novel poses, or does it sidestep it?

The novel ends mid-motion — Junior and Rowdy playing basketball in the dark. Why doesn't Alexie give us a resolution? What does ending 'during' rather than 'after' communicate about Junior's story?

Junior is fourteen and already thinking about leaving. What does the novel suggest about what it costs children to be the 'hope' of a struggling family or community — and is that a fair burden?

Alexie uses the word 'hope' more than almost any other abstract concept in the novel — and almost always in contexts where hope is painful or dangerous. What is his actual argument about hope?

Compare Junior and Rowdy to two other literary male friendships — Huck and Jim from Huckleberry Finn, or Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men. What does it mean for the more powerful person in each friendship to be the one who leaves?

Eugene is killed over 'the last swallow of wine in a bottle.' Alexie doesn't sentimentalize this death or explain it away. What is the effect of a death this arbitrary and this small — and what does it say about the reservation's crisis?

Grandmother Spirit is described as unusual for the reservation: she is tolerant of gay people, different religions, and outsiders. Why does Alexie establish her as exceptional in her tolerance — and what does that say about the community she lives in?

Penelope pays for Junior's dinner without making it awkward. Junior calls this the moment he loves her. Is this a politically optimistic moment (racism and class can be overcome in individual acts) or a naive one?

Alexie uses Junior's cartooning to do political work that the prose often can't — the mascot observation, the poverty illustrations, the father with the saxophone. What does the shift from words to image allow in terms of saying things directly that narrative might soften?

Junior transfers to Reardan and begins to succeed. The novel doesn't let this be a clean triumph. What are the specific costs of Junior's success — what does he lose, and who pays the price of his gain?

The novel is classified as Young Adult (YA). Does that classification limit how seriously it should be taken as literature — or does it change what it's trying to do?

Alexie has said this is the most autobiographical thing he's ever written. How does knowing the author survived — got out, became a famous writer, won the National Book Award — change your reading of Junior's story? Does Alexie's success make the book more or less honest about the reservation's realities?

This book has been challenged or banned more than almost any other contemporary YA novel. What is actually threatening about it — and to whom? What does the banning history tell us about what the novel is doing successfully?