In
many ways, Junior is engulfed by the emotional realities of his life and his community.
Yet his spare, matter-of-fact language and his keen sense of irony help him to
confront and negotiate the hurt, the rage, and the senselessness of Wellpinit’s
everyday realities. How does Junior use language to lead readers, whose lives
may be very different from his own, to the kind of understanding that they will
not necessarily get from other young adult fiction, whose writers do not have
this same kind of lived experience?
I haven't been blogging weekly but I just wanted to comment on the book. I loved it even more the second time around. There were so many things I forgot. Through Junior's voice, I can see his home on the reservation and I really know the characters. He even carries that over when he attends high school off the reservation. Sherman Alexie is telling about reservation life through Junior because he has lived it, too. You can feel the pain of the family when Junior's sister dies. Junior's parents are wonderful. They each have their faults but they care deeply about their children and extended family and friends. I know this book has been challenged but I honestly don't know why. Junior is a typical teenager. What an insight into the teenage life of a Native American. This should be highly recommended for all teens to understand Native American teens and other cultures.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time reading this book but I get a sense of understanding of what it is like living on the reservation from a young adult’s perspective. I’m not sure what Vicki means when she says this book has been challenged, but I agree on the insight into the teenage life of a Native American and her recommendation that all teens would become more empathetic to the challenges faced by similar teens living on a reservation.
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