The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Little, Brown

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
2007

The Summary
"Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation.  Born with a variety of medical problems, he is picked on by everyone but his best friend.  Determined to receive a good education, Junior leaves the rez to attend an all-white school in the neighboring farm town where the only other Indian is the school mascot.  Despite being condemned as a traitor to his people and enduring great tragedies, Junior attacks life with wit and humor and discovers a strength inside himself that he never knew existed.

"Inspired by his own experiences growing up, award-winning author Sherman Alexie chronicles the contemporary adolescence for one unlucky boy trying to rise above the life everyone expects him to live."

The Good
Let me state, first off, that I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for the simple fact that it was on the banned books list (again) for 2014.  Like Captain Underpants (yes, seriously) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bluest Eye, Sherman Alexie's novel has managed to appear on the list not once, not twice, but five times since its original publication in 2007.  Although the banned books list for 2015 has not yet been released by the American Library Association, I have a suspicion that Alexie's novel will return to the list for a sixth consecutive year.

Now, while I did pick The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian because it ended up on another banned books list, I finished it because it is a great YA novel.  Sherman Alexie does a wonderful job bringing Junior's character to life, offering an intimate glimpse into the conflicts he faces and the difficult choices he must make--and the person he becomes.

Junior is a smart kid, and he makes an intelligent, insightful narrator.  He works hard to further his education and, at the recommendation of his teacher, sets out to learn at a local school beyond the reservation.  Not only does he face being ostracized by his community for leaving, he's initially ridiculed by his peers at Reardan and endures the abandonment of his closest friend.  He tells you his struggles, tells you what he thinks and feels, giving you a candid account of what it's like to be a kid who feels like a fish out of water.

Even though I didn't always relate to him, seeing how he has had much different life experiences, I always felt like I could connect to him.  In telling his story, he shows the real struggles that all teenagers face:  loss, love, friendship, failure, tragedy, bullying, parental and social expectations.  His story can really connect to readers, showing the overall experiences that all teenagers are likely to face in high school.  He's a wonderful, candid narrator with a heart of gold and he's a fantastic storyteller, appealing with his words and his illustrations.

There's just something about Alexie's novel that makes it so very enjoyable.  Perhaps it's Junior's illustrations, or his storytelling abilities, or his story as he recounts his sudden move from the Spokane reservation to Reardan--or, perhaps, it's a combination of all three elements.  Fine illustrations, a wonderful narrator, and a great story.  Either way, I found The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian an immensely enjoyable novel.

The Bad
Junior does use strong language and he touches upon mature themes, especially those entwined with his culture.  He faces hardships that I will never know or even begin to understand.  He has lived in a completely different world that, I'll admit, I have no knowledge of or experience with, which makes it difficult to relate to him.

But that's more a failing on my part than anything else.  His story actually gives me the opportunity to broaden my horizons and understand a place, a time, and, yes, a unique culture that I wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to see.

The Ugly
Adolescence.

Puberty, peer pressure, coming to grips with one's sexuality, bullying, social and cultural expectations--it's a very messy business.

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For more on banned books, check out the ALA website:  http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics

My Soul to Keep

Harper Voyager

My Soul to Keep
Tananarive Due
1997

The Summary
"Jessica is an African-American journalist as ambitious as she is bright.  She is chasing the biggest story of her life, a story that strikes closer to home than she knows.

"Dawit is an immortal, whose ancient thirst for wisdom leads him to break the first commandment of his kind:  not to fall in love.

"Together they are about to pay the ultimate price for their ambition...and their desire."

The Good
Tananarive Due creates a fascinating and inventive novel in My Soul to Keep.  She pulls from religion and myth, drawing from a myriad of cultures and countries and continents, extracting fascinating bits of history to create an intricately woven story of loss and love, life and death and immortality--and all of its terrible implications.  My Soul to Keep is beautifully executed, crafting an exquisite story that's one part tragedy and one part family epic that tosses together a number of people (immortal and otherwise) into a tangled web.

Let me say this, I loved this story.  I stumbled across it purely by accident when I was scrolling through the audiobooks on my local library website and, when I realized it conformed to one of my Read Harder Challenge categories, I jumped at the chance to read it.  Not only was I impressed by depth of the novel, which explores the human heart and the effect of immortality on man, I fell in love with the history Due included in her novel.

My Soul to Keep delves into a particularly dark part of American history, setting a portion of her novel in the Louisiana shortly before the Civil War.  She confronts the reality of slavery, the violence and loss that so many people faced on a daily basis, and she does a spectacular job of illustrating what someone like Dawit might have experienced during those tumultuous times.

Due also draws upon many different parts of history:  Chicago during the Jazz Age, Miami in the bustling modern world, Spain during the Inquisition, and even Ethiopia from Dawit's childhood, four hundred years before the story begins.  She weaves together an enchanting, sometimes terrifying story, that encapsulates a variety of human experience--a tapestry of history that reflects the beliefs, the culture, the language of each and every age she visits in her novel.

My Soul to Keep is exceptional in that regard.

But I really enjoyed the story, too.  It has a complexity that's thrilling, an undercurrent of suspense and menace that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat.  Although it sometimes seems to develop slowly--that is, it took a little longer than I expected for me to put together some of the pieces--I was pleased with how the narrative evolved, how Jessica changed when she learned Dawit's secrets, Dawit's actions in trying to protect his family and his flashbacks to his not-so-immediate past.

Since I listened to Due's novel as an audiobook, I have to say I was particularly pleased with the narration.  Peter Francis James does a stellar job of reading My Soul to Keep, melding flawless narration with an exceptional story.  His voice brought life to the characters, gave them a singularly unique voice and an emotional impact that left me nearly breathless at each chapter.

I loved My Soul to Keep.  It's just a good book all around, and it's probably one of my favorite this year.

The Bad
No complaints.

Seriously, none.  At just over eighteen hours, My Soul to Keep was a bit lengthy for my usual tastes, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.  It took me about two weeks to finish the story, since I could only listen to it a couple of hours a day when I walked my dog or drove my car, or when I worked early in the morning before opening.  But if you're interested in it, I certainly wouldn't let the time present an obstacle.

Due's novel is worth reading, and I highly recommend it.

The Ugly
There were a few moments during which I had to stop the tape and take a minute to process what had happened.  Sometimes, it was difficult to proceed with the story, because it hurt to see how everything was starting to fall apart for Jessica and Dawit.  My heart was breaking for them as their lives took a turn for the worse.

The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic

Bellevue Literary Press

The Lives They Left Behind:  Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic
Darby Penney
Peter Stastny
2008

The Summary
Willard State Hospital operated for 125 years before it closed its doors in 1995, after which more than 400 suitcases were discovered in the attic--each holding the belongings of someone who disappeared inside Willard and never left its campus again.

The Good
The Lives They Left Behind offers incredible insight into psychiatric care throughout the 20th century, providing an in-depth look at how psychiatric disorders were perceived and treated.  It's both informative and engaging, which I found beneficial when reading.  It gave me statistics, but it also gave me a face to put to the numbers, a unique story behind the cold, hard facts.

I was fascinated to learn that Willard received a disproportionately large number of women as patients, especially at the very beginning when the hospital opened its doors.  Many of these women were often committed because they didn't conform to social standards, suffered from what was then classified as a sexual deviancy, or struggled with other disorders such a menopause, chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, etc.  Although I found it difficult (and heartbreaking) to read their stories, I was fascinated to learn about what women experienced in society and what society expected of them.

I especially liked that the authors gave an overview of the institution, of general psychiatric care, and zeroed in on specific individuals.  The Lives They Left Behind offers a look at the "big picture" and individual care.  It doesn't just tell you about the things that patients, as a single population, experienced, it gives you the opportunity to witness what one patient versus another experienced.  All stories are different, all treatments were different, and Penney and Stastny reflect that.

The Bad
Although I can say I thought Stastny and Penney did a great job of connecting to readers, showing both the technical and emotional sides of psychiatric care, I thought some of it was a bit dry.  It's an examination of psychiatry and mental health treatment, riddled with statistics and numbers, which sometimes made it feel more like an academic study versus an ongoing narrative of Willard patients.

I'm not saying that makes it a bad book--far from it!--but it does make it a little challenging, a little dense and dull.

The Ugly
The treatments inflicted on mental patients, even at revolutionary compounds like Willard, is very hard to stomach.  Not counting shock therapy, many patients underwent unnecessary operations and received drug prescriptions that often did more harm than good.  Some individuals were even hospitalized necessarily, especially women.

Josephine Smith, for instance, was hospitalized (at a different institution) for 75 years because her family didn't want to deal with her erratic behavior.  Lawrence Marek, who was taken to Willard, likely suffered from some form of mental illness; however, much of his behavior could be attributed to personal tragedies and struggles.

After Ethel Smalls arrived at Willard, she spent the latter half of her life committed because she complained of chronic pains and, most likely, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after losing two of her children and enduring years of abuse from her husband.  However, she wasn't treated for PTSD for two reasons:  she wasn't considered to have endured any real trauma, and only soldiers were said to suffer from PTSD.

Margaret Dunleavy, likewise, suffered with chronic pain from tuberculosis and her treatments for tuberculosis.  She, most likely, didn't have any mental disorder at all; rather, she was hospitalized after an unexpected outburst that was caused by several stressors--her work conditions, her disease, her unconventional relationship with her lover, among others--and her employers essentially decided she wasn't worth the hassle, recommending she be committed.  She spent the rest of her days at Willard.

And this is just a small sample of patients who were ripped from their lives simply because they were too much trouble, too burdensome to family, friends, or coworkers.  While some needed institutionalization, because they obviously suffered from some psychological or behavioral disorder, several others didn't need lifelong commitment--they needed more understanding, more empathy, and less time behind bars.

Unfinished (Part 4)

For every ten books I enjoy, I find myself stumbling across a book I simply don't like or one I don't care to finish.  Some books, I initially loved; others, not so much.  Regardless, I must sadly admit defeat and say I didn't finish a single book I have listed here.

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Punk Planet Books

The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno was an interesting book.  I was initially intrigued by the  title and the cover, a gray cover with the white-and-blue image of a young boy (i.e. the boy detective) looking at what appears to be a severed arm.  It's a strikingly macabre illustration that made me first pick up the book; however, as I continued to read the novel, I was less enthusiastic.  While Joe Meno crafts an intriguing young adult novel about a boy still reeling from the loss of his sister to suicide, still struggling to find a new balance in his life and deal with his mental illness, I can't stay I stayed intrigued.

There's something about the tone of the novel that eventually put me off reading.  Part of it may have been the fact that Billy Argo, the Boy Detective, spent the majority of his adolescence in a mental institution, or the fact that Billy, once released, is dead set on finding out what happened to his sister, looking for killers who may or may not exist.  With facts like these, I couldn't help but predict one of two outcomes for the book:  one, Billy Argo is seriously deluded and ends up hurting and/or killing someone in the pursuit of "justice"; or, two, Billy Argo discovers his sister was murdered and then his world/case unravels.

I could have jumped the gun by predicting the outcome of the book.  I mean, I could be completely wrong about how The Boy Detective Fails ends; however, I wasn't ready to risk reading an entire book when my two options seemed so very unappealing.

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Broadway Books

I really enjoyed Erik Larson's Thunderstruck.  As a lover of books and a lover of history, Thunderstruck seemed to hit all the right notes with me.  It helped me learn about an obscure part of history I simply didn't know and it introduced me to a startling new world of science and engineering, telling me about Guglielmo Marconi and his startling new invention, the wireless telegraph.  I mean, I really enjoyed reading Larson's book.

But I couldn't finish it.

Don't ask me why, but I couldn't seem to commit myself to more than a handful of pages at a time.  I'd read five pages, then stop; I'd read another six pages, then stop myself again, and promptly find myself distracted by another book.  (Like The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, or The Martian by Andy Weir--which I highly recommend, by the way--or A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.)  It was a frustrating cycle and, eventually, I just gave up.

I still intend to finish reading Thunderstruck.  I want to find out what happens with Marconi's machine, how a brutal murder in London is connected to the wireless telegraph--and how a mild-mannered physician became what he became.  One day, I'll have answers to these questions; one day, I'll finish reading Larson's book.

Today, however, just isn't that day.

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Hyperion

The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor was an interesting novel.  Part mystery, part drama, it combines vaguely supernatural elements with human desperation and tragedy.  It's a strangely compelling narrative.  I'd liken it to watching a train crash: you simply can't look away from the devastation.

I listened to it as an audiobook, listening to John Holdsworth's personal tragedies as his life and story begin to unravel, listening as Holdsworth investigates the haunting at Jerusalem College at Cambridge--and, admittedly, I was hooked for several hours.  However, I hit a point in the story when I simply didn't want to hear anymore.  Perhaps, it was the antics of the Holy Ghost Club; perhaps, it was the macabre images of ghosts and corpses; perhaps, it was Frank Overshaw's imprisonment in a mental institution.

Regardless of the cause, I found I couldn't bear to witness anymore and I had to put the story aside and move on to something happier.  Something with a little less gore, I thought.  Something that wouldn't make my stomach squirm quite so much.

As a sidenote, I'll point out that John Telfer was an extraordinary narrator.  I loved how he gave a different tone, different voice to each and every character.  I couldn't help but enjoy how he managed to give each character a uniquely distinguishable voice.  It was wonderful, and I'd love to find another story narrated by him.

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Bantam

Last, but not least, I must admit failure with one very special, very wonderful book:  A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

I absolutely loved reading George R.R. Martin's novel.  I loved the way the book felt:  heavy with stories, full of suspense, riddled with elements of fantasy--and don't forget the dragons.  But, for some reason, I just couldn't muddle through A Game of Thrones.  Like Thunderstruck by Erik Larson, I couldn't stay committed to just one book.

I became distracted by other books, by slimmer volumes that offered immediate gratification, by stories that weren't quite so...tragic.  It's a grim story, blood-soaked and twisted.  And after witnessing a number of harrowing misadventures and horrible deaths, I found myself less and less inclined to finish reading A Game of Thrones.

I suppose having the story ruined by the HBO show didn't help matters either.

A Darkness Strange and Lovely

HarperTeen

A Darkness Strange and Lovely
Susan Dennard
2013

The Summary
"After helping the Spirit-Hunters save Philadelphia from the walking Dead, Eleanor Fitt must now face the thing she couldn't stop:  her brother's death, her mother's deteriorating health, and the sting of unrequited love.  But when she encounters the necromancer Marcus again, she must seek the help of Joseph, Jie, and the gorgeous Daniel--who have all fled to Paris.

"On her way to France, Eleanor meets Oliver, who claims to have known her brother.  Though friendly, Oliver harbors a secret involving black magic that entices Eleanor.  Trying to resist it, she rejoins the Spirit-Hunters in hopes of stopping Marcus.

"But the Dead have taken over Paris, and there's a whole new evil lurking.  Eleanor is now forced to make a dangerous decision--and her choice could mean life or death for everyone."

The Good
Oddly enough, I devoured this book.  Something about it appealed to me and kept me riveted to the page.  I can't say why, either.  It's packed with action, a handful of decent characters, a few plot twists I didn't expect, and I was somehow hooked--drawn inexplicably into a crazy, wild story that crosses the Atlantic and drives right into the heart of Paris.

I'll be the first to admit that A Darkness Strange and Lovely isn't a great book.  I mean, it isn't an epic or an immediate classic, but it's fun and interesting--and it appealed to me on a certain level.  I liked the idea of zombies using the catacombs of Paris to take more victims, to create more havoc.  It's an intriguing concept.  It's exciting and full of heart-pounding action, a few fascinating inventions and weird (read:  mad scientist) science, but it's fun to read.

I can't really tell you why, but I really liked reading Susan Dennard's novel.  I liked it well enough that I managed to finish it within a couple of days.

The Bad
A Darkness Strange and Lovely doesn't have the best writing.  It isn't always compelling and, admittedly, it lost my attention a couple of times.  Granted, I still finished it in, like, two days, but it's not a great novel.  It's dark and grisly, but it has a bad habit of throwing up unnecessary smokescreens that I found annoying and, more often than not,  offered zero explanation for magic.

It continually led me on to one misadventure after another, propelling the story forward with one event after another, culminating in an obvious (to the reader) conclusion.  I felt there were a few gaps in the story:  why was Marcus in France to begin with?  I mean, it's not like it was a particularly compelling destination.  And why doesn't anyone explain circumstances--and magic--to Eleanor when it would keep her out of danger?

Basically, Eleanor is a loaded cannon.  And, instead of teaching her how to aim in the right direction or, you know, telling her to keep a burning match away from the fuse, they all (but Oliver and Joseph, in particular) seem content to let her walk around in ignorance.  She could had been spared a lot of problems and everyone else could have been saved a lot of trouble if they'd just told her the truth.

Sheesh.

The Ugly
Flesh-eating zombies.

Oh, and soul-sucking demons.

And reanimated animal corpses.