The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-time Indian And The Tragedies In It

In this book, we meet the main character Arnold Spirit Jr. Where he tells about his life on the Spokane Indian reservation. “I was born with water in my brain” is the first line of the book. The narrator doesn’t waste any time telling you how different he is. He then goes on to talk about when he was six how he got a brain surgery and he might die from it. And even if he even makes if he was going to suffer major brain damage from it.

The narrator then tells us his story about his dog, Oscar. His family is too poor to afford veterinary care, so Junior’s father shoots the dog. Then he goes on to explains the situation with his family and poverty.

Not far into the book, we meet the main characters best friend, Rowdy. Rowdy spends quite some time with Arnold's family since his family was abusive. Unlike junior, Rowdy is strong tough and angry, and he frequently gets in fights. Those two go to a powwow together where Junior gets beat up a bit, and Rowdy had to intervene. Already then, we see that Rowdy is Junior’s main protector.

Soon, Junior and Rowdy begin their first year at Wellpinit high. Junior is excited and is looking forward to his geometry class. But his teacher, Mr.P gives Junior a textbook that Junior see that the book was signed by his mother, Agnes Adams, thirty years ago. He then throws the textbook across the room in rage, and accidentally hits Mr.P in his face and breaking his nose. He then gets suspended for school but later, Mr. P comes to Junior’s house to apologize. There, he tells Junior that he should get off the rez, and so he did.

Afterward, he tells his parents that he wants to go to Reardan, an all-white school 22-miles away from the rez. Because his family is poor, Junior often has problems getting to Reardan because they don't have enough money for gas. He usually gets a ride from people like his dads' friend, Eugene. A few days later going to the school, the toughest person in Reardan, Roger, insults Junior with a racist joke, which then leads to Junior punching Roger in the face. From that time Junior earns Rogers respect.

But on the rez, the other Indians feel betrayed. Most of the people react to this by ignoring Junior, however, not everyone can manage his or her anger. To impress Penelope, a girl that Junior finds pretty, he decides to go raise money for the homeless while trick or treating. But after a while, word gets around hat Junior is going door to door while carrying money. Junior then gets jumped by three boys in masks and fears that Rowdy is one of them. Then, around Thanksgiving, his sister, Mary, get married to a poker player from Montana and she moves to Montana without saying goodbye to her family. Mary frequently sends Junior letters, saying that she can’t find a job, but she keeps staying optimistic hoping that she will find one.

Later that year, Junior tries out for the Reardan basketball team and must play one-on-one with the biggest guy there, Roger, who is 6’6” and can dunk. He manages to hold his own and is been rewarded with a spot on the varsity team. After then, Reardan faces Wellpint’s team, the team Junior used to play on and the team that Rowdy plays on. The entire reservation turns its backs on Junior when his team enters the game. While Junior is checking into the game, a fan throws a quarter in Junior’s face and he must get stitched up by Eugene. Just after he is back on the field, Rowdy fouls him so badly that he gets a concussion. Reardan loses badly, but they are going to face each other some weeks later. Here, Junior’s strong defense and stopping Rowdy makes Reardan win the match. Wellpint’s season is ruined and Reardan goes off to the state playoffs, where they lose.

Then, the tragedies begin. His grandmother, who is struck and killed by a drunk driver on the way from a powwow. A white billionaire, Ted, shows up to her funeral amongst to thousand other people. Then Eugene is shot and killed by his best friend, Bobby, over the last sip of a bottle of wine. When Junior thought things couldn't get any worse, the school guidance counselor tells him that her sister, Mary, Died. His dad picks him up from school and tells him that they died from a fire in their trailer after they passed out from drinking. He manages to finish his school year with a decent report card. Later that summer Rowdy comes to his house to see if he wanted to hang out. The book ends with them playing one-on-one with each other in the summer heat, until it got dark.