The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

My Rating: 4.5/5
Pages: 230; Speed: Very Fast
Subject: Young Adult, Culture

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is Alexie's first foray into the young adult genre, and it took him only one book to master the form. Recently nominated for a National Book Award, this is a gem of a book. I keep flipping back to re-read the best scenes and linger over Ellen Forney's cartoons…For 15 years now, Sherman Alexie has explored the struggle to survive between the grinding plates of the Indian and white worlds. He's done it through various characters and genres, but The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian may be his best work yet. Working in the voice of a 14-year-old forces Alexie to strip everything down to action and emotion, so that reading becomes more like listening to your smart, funny best friend recount his day while waiting after school for a ride home," (Bruce Barcott, The New York Times).

Available here.

Getting the Girl

My Rating: 2/5

Pages 250 • Speed: Very Fast

Subject: Self-Actualization and Social Situations

On the other side of the tracks in Sydney, Australia, Marcus Zusak tells the seemingly real (& often profane) story of a sweet, confused adolescent who narrates with "an earthly working-class dialect" (phrase quoted from Answers.com).  Cameron Wolfe is used to being the quiet one in his aggressive family.  Living in the shadows of his older brothers, (Steve, the local soccer star, and Rube, who has never lost a fight--or struck out with a girl) he's longing for companionship. "My brother never really had to say or do anything. He just had to stand somewhere... or even trip up a gutter and a girl would like him."  Rube's latest weekly fling-Octavia-was thrown to the curb, but she was different from all the rest.  She wasn't embarrassed by Cameron-and he becomes obsessed with her, even sharing his closet poetry. They potentially have a connection unlike anything she had with his brother. For her, he even stops waiting outside the window of a 'missed opportunity' he'd previously walk across town to pretend to visit.  Octavia is mezmorizing!  When Rube finds out his little brother's trying to pick up his "scraps," there's a face-off between family loyalty and self-actualization.  And how does Octavia feel about this?  I absolutely love the way Zusak plays with words and incarnates his characters; but the storyline is bland, so the low score pains me despite the writing technique.  Does Cameron get the girl?  And will his brothers ever give him the respect (or at least acknowledgement) his ego yearns for?  Very masculinely told, with not a few profanities in blunt teenage street talk, I feel like I've just read the real-life journal of a struggling teenager.

Get it here.
(I still can't figure out if the cover is of a guy or a girl. Weird.)