The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I just finished Sherman Alexie's novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It's hilarious, heartbreaking, embarrassing, uncomfortable and...did I mention hilarious? I stumbled across the work just before Christmas at E. Shaver, Bookseller's in Savannah, Ga.. I read the first chapter standing in the book shop and was blown away. I snatched up a copy as a gift for my niece and promised myself that I would check out a copy from the Tallahassee library. I finally did--and was happy to discover that the chapters following the first were equally entertaining. I was also surprised at the level of intimacy in the story. It's an uncomfortably accurate glimpse into the workings of a fourteen year old mind --at least as far as I can remember. Plus it's just plain funny--and sweet. I hope my niece gleaned some useful intel on the adolescent male psyche!

It's published by Little, Brown with terrific illustrations by graphic artist Ellen Forney.