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

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

Reason for Reading: This was one of my planned reads for the social justice theme read in February.

Review
When Arnold “Junior” Spirit accidentally breaks his rez-teacher’s nose, he gets a piece of unexpected advice: get off the rez before you lose your spirit. Junior decides to go to the all-white high school in a farm town 20 miles away from the reservation. He consequently deals with racism from the whites and hatred from his reservation friends, while fighting the usual teen problems of making friends, succeeding in sports, hiding his poverty, and impressing the girls. This book is hilarious and tragic at the same time. I loved the cartoons drawn by Junior…and I loved his dry, sarcastic humor. The characterization was fantastic – I really felt for Junior during his troubles. But you can’t read this book and expect some fuzzy-happy picture to be painted of reservation life. This book is gritty and realistic. Even rather depressing at times. I was really touched at Alexie’s honest portrayal of the life of a reservation kid. I look forward to reading more of Alexie’s books in the future.

The Lesson, by Suzanne Woods Fisher

The Lesson, by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Reason for Reading: This is the third book in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series. An ARC was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review

Mary Kate (M.K.) has finally reached adulthood and she wants to spread her wings and explore the world. Although she dearly loves her family and friends, she’s not sure the Amish life is for her. However, her big plans grind to a halt when she accidentally crashes into the community’s school teacher, and she has to teach the kids until the regular teacher has recovered. But she is much more interested in playing detective than teaching. She wants to solve a murder and find out more about the mysterious strangers that moved into town. In this third and final book of the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, M.K. matures, but she is also the same fun-loving M. K. She learns to stay true to her nature while learning (once and for all?) that she should keep her nose out of other people’s business. But will she stay in Stoney Ridge, or leave the community to explore the world?

I’m really glad The Lesson gave me the opportunity to tie up all the loose ends on the Lapp family. The book is a quick read, with a light and humorous writing style. M.K. is probably the most complex character in the series, and this exploration of her strengths, weaknesses, and quirks makes for a satisfying conclusion to the Stoney Ridge Seasons series.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Written by J. K. Rowling, Narrated by Jim Dale

Reason for Reading: I’ve been going through the Harry Potter books by audio now. This is my first time reading straight through the entire series, and by “straight” I mean I finish one every one or two months. 😉

Review

(WARNING: Contains unavoidable spoilers from earlier novels!!!)
Voldemort has recently returned, and Harry Potter has spent the entire summer listening to the muggle news for some sign of terror. But it turns out that most people don’t believe Harry and Dumbledore that Voldemort has risen, and Voldemort is using that ignorance to his advantage. Furthermore, the Ministry of Magic has decided that Dumbledore isn’t stable, and they’re interfering at Hogwarts with the addition of a new teacher – the throttle-worthy Dolores Umbridge. *Yes. I wanted to throttle her EVERY time she entered the narrative. That shows excellent caricaturization by Rowling.* This year, Harry must battle the disciplinary hand of the Ministry and skepticism from his fellow students, without losing focus on his upcoming OWL exams. Will he pass Potions?!

This is one of the more complex books in the series (which wins it bonus points with me), but it is also the angstiest book. Harry spends the entire book angry at his friends, angry at Dumbledore, angry at the Ministry, angry at Umbridge, and just plain pissed off in general. His confusion is compounded by his interest in Cho, who is still mourning the death of her dead boyfriend Cedric. Overall, it’s a good book because it advances the story and develops character, but I got a bit tired of angsty Harry. This is my least favorite (though still highly enjoyable) of the Harry Potter books.

Jim Dale’s narration is quite enjoyable now that I’ve gotten used to it. He has recognizable voices for each of the characters, and his voice is entertaining and engrossing.