Extra Credit # 1-The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

                           









 Alexie, Sherman.The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian.New York: Little,Brown and Co.,2007.Print.




Annotation: Arnold 'Junior' Spirit is a 14-year-boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation where poverty and alcoholism are a part of everyday life. Junior makes a decision to create  new opportunities for himself and transfers to an all white high school -off the reservation. Attending Reardan, he learns more about himself and life than he ever imagined.

Justification for Nomination:
This humorous, fast paced, heartwarming novel by Sherman Alexie is sure to be a teen favorite. The main character, Junior, enters the world with "water on the brain".He survives surgery at six months old, but is left with a number of physical problems: stuttering, lisp, big feet, big head and a brain prone to seizures. Despite all these problems, Junior learns to adapt and make the best of what he has! What he does have is a knack for drawing cartoons and creatively expressing himself. Drawings are intermingled throughout the text and help create the effortless flow of this story.

The pivotal event of this book is Junior's decision to switch schools and attended an all-white high school, Reardan, twenty-two miles away, off the 'rez'. Junior wants more out of life than the reservation can offer him. There are  a host of interesting characters which help the reader understand how Junior interprets his world-his teacher Mr.P, his best friend Rowdy, his grandmother and his sister. Life on the reservation compared to life in Reardan clearly illustrates the duality of Junior's life and brilliantly highlights the inner quest for identity so relevant  to adolescent development.


The Absolutely True Diary of  A Part-Time Indian is a book that is hard to put down! Sherman Alexie creates a character who is so easy to empathize with - through the agonizing moments and the triumphant ones. Parts of this book will make you cry and other parts will make you laugh! The humor and wit will warm your soul. Junior becomes the teen inside of all of us! He is flawed, confused, misunderstood, curious, insightful , but most importantly of all -he is courageous!  He is on a quest to better understand himself and  his place in this world !

Sherman Alexie delivers a heartwarming, funny and poignant novel . Junior's voice rings with clarity and candor! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a story you won't soon forget!

Genre Category: Multicultural/ Coming Of Age/Realistic/Sports











                           

# 10 How to Survive A Robot Uprising

                                                                                         

Wilson, Daniel. How To Survive A Robot Uprising.  New York :Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005. Print.

                                                     
Annotation:
Beware of your surroundings! There may be a hostile robot lurking within your own home. This compact little book, by roboticist Daniel Wilson, will tell you all you need to know in the event of a robot uprising!

Nomination for Rejection:
 Even though I found a great amount of humor in this book and appreciate the artistic way in which Wilson presents the world of robotics, this book did not pass my test as far being a book that will  appeal to the majority of teens. Within this pocket size 'survival guide', the author lists a number of  short tutorials on how to outsmart and outrun  a host of  hostile robots.These robots can take a variety of  forms and may be hiding in your home,  your car or may  cleverly disguise themselves in animal form.Without question, the theme of this book is humorous!It  contains some very amusing anecdotes with headings, such as "How to Escape a Humanoid Robot", " How to Escape a Robot Swarm" and How to Survive a Car Chase With An Unmanned Ground Vehicle".There is also a description of 'Smart Houses' and how to escape from a "smart house". As the author explains, allowing a robot to monitor your "behavioral patterns" is one of the worst possible scenarios for any human- robots are not always friendly!  These chapter titles will instantly catch the readers attention, but the informational text which follows may deter a lot of teen readers from continuing- especially those not very interested in the latest robotics technology.

Most of the adolescent appeal of How To Survive A Robot Uprising lies in the modernistic red and black  illustrations and the bullet point detailing used to organize the text. The visual effects are enticing but I wonder if  the more complex non- fictional aspects of this book interfere with it's status as a legitimate YA humor title. The author does tell us in the "Briefing" segment to " watch the line disappear between science fiction and science fact" as you read the book.

Additionally,  I would assume this book to be more popular with males and those extremely interested in Robotics and scientific inventions. The subject matter does have a limited appeal. Computer geeks may love this book, but I'm not so sure about the fifteen year old fashion queen!Wilson, after all, does have a PH.D in Robotics and Data Mining from the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University and his passion for the material seeps out from every silicone tainted page!


How To Survive A Robot Uprising definitely has a very funny premise, but I do not believe it will hold the attention of the adolescent reader. This witty book may very well save a life in the event of a actual robot uprising, but for now I 'll take my chances and continue using  my toaster! In my opinion, this book delivers it's mechanical punch line, one 'nano' second too late!

Genre Category: Humor/ Non-Fiction