The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence. -- V. Lombardi

Arnold "Junior" Spirit didn't start out committed to excellence -- he was barely surviving. He was born hydrocephalic (water on the brain) on the Spokane reservation at Wellpinit, Washington, which he describes as "one million miles north of Important and two billion miles west of Happy." His father was an alcoholic, his older sister had locked herself away in the basement of their home after graduating high school -- and he was just trying to survive the taunts of the other kids who called him "Globe" or "Orbit" due to the size of his head.

It was a geometry book that changed Spirit's life forever. A self proclaimed "book-kisser," he was about ready to lay his lips on his geometry book when a name inside the cover stopped him cold. It was Agnes Adams -- his mother's maiden name. That made the text over 30 years old!

He threw the book and ended up hitting his teacher, Mr. P. That was not planned, but he still got expelled for it -- and later Mr. P. came to him and told him to get out -- the only way he'd make anything of himself was to leave the reservation.

That day, Arnold decided to transfer to Beardan High School, approximately 22 miles away. He'd be the only Indian there besides the school mascot, but the teaching would be better. He'd also face a daily battle just getting to school. Part of the time, there's no gas money, the car's not running, nobody will pick him up hitching to school, etc -- but he keeps on trying.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian focuses on Arnold's freshman year at Beardan High. Nine months sees him making new friends and losing old ones as the folks on the rez ostracize him and call him "Apple" (red on the outside, white on the inside). Arnold also loses his grandmother, older sister and father's best friend, Eugene -- all to drinking of some kind. He gains the respect of the Beardan kids and realizes that, despite being dirt poor, there are some community advantages to living on the rez.

Sherman Alexie is one of the best writers in the contemporary scene. He's got a sense of humor and timing that will have you laughing at the most surprising events. If good writing is measured by one quotable line per page, Alexie's achieved excellence in the first chapters alone.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian earned numerous awards for its author. It won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the National Parenting Publication gold medal, and was named a New York Times Notable Children's Book, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year in Children's Fiction, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2007, an Amazon.com Best Book of 2007 and a Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books of 2007. It also has been banned in some areas for its depiction of alcohol, poverty, bullying, violence, sexuality, profanity and slurs related to homosexuality and mental disability.