"The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian," is a young adult, (YA) novel written by Sherman Alexie. The protagonist is a young boy named Junior, comes across problematic situations causing him to learn valuable lessons and develop into an improved person. Being a Native American on a reservation in Spokane, Washington has a negative impact on Junior's life. After transferring from the reservation school to Reardan, an all-white school, and then losing a close friendship, Junior realizes many things about himself and matures into an astute young man. The author's message is that with the assistance of close friends and family, Junior can overcome troublesome predicaments and complete anything. During the course of the novel, Junior endures the many challenges of being poverty-stricken outcast as well as transferring to an all-Caucasian school, from which he learns how to excel at Reardan and the reservation while making and maintaining indispensable friendships crucial to his success.
Undeterred by difficulties and with continuous determination to push his limits, Junior tries out for the Reardan basketball team and makes it on varsity. For instance, since Indians do not typically go far in life, Junior is surprised at his coach's optimism: "Coach was thinking I would be an all-state player in a few years. How often do you hear the words "Indian " and "college " in the same sentence? " (180). Conveying that what Junior lacks in talent, he compensates with hard effort and labor to become a better player. Consequently, Junior's persistence allows him perform to the best of his abilities both at the reservation and Reardan. Junior depicts how the act of determination can enable him to improve: "But somehow or another, as the season went on, I became a freshman starter on a varsity basketball team " (179). Even though Junior is just a freshman in high school, his progression in sports proves he is exceeding his previous standards and is standing out of the crowd.