The book is an autobiographical novel, told in first person, with the 14-year-old main character, Arnold Spirit, leaving his Spokane (WA) Indian reservation school to attend a wealthy, all-white school. Arnold deals with many typical modern Native American problems: the alcoholism of his father, the death of his grandmother and sister, poverty, and despair.
Like the 2007 Newbery winner The Higher Power of Lucky, this book will generate some controversy, with its references to the “chronic tribe of masturbators” (page 217) and “boners” (pages 96, 97, 190, and “a metaphorical boner” on page 98). The book is recommended for ages 14 and up, and I think boys in particular will enjoy it.
Alexie, born in 1966, attended Gonzaga and Washington State, and now lives in Seattle. It’s the second year in a row that a Seattleite has won a National Book Award. Last year, journalist Tim Egan won the non-fiction award for The Worst Hard Time, which my out-of-town book club read early this year.
[ETA: Since its publication, the book routinely appears on lists of challenged or banned books.]
