The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group. 

Arnold Spirit, or preferably Junior, is a courageous young teenager who takes the advice of a teacher to leave the reservation for his education.  This decision results in a lot of beef for a kid who is used to fist fights, including the abandonment of his best friend, Rowdy.  Junior plows his way into the school for white kids, 22 miles off the reservation, a distance he occasionally has to walk due to circumstances revolving around extreme poverty.  A cartoonist, Junior, understands everything about the world in pictures and does an incredible job narrating the story of his year of transition from the school on the reservation to the white kids' school.  After his move, he realizes he belongs neither here nor there and as certain events begin to spiral out of control, Junior makes sweeping discoveries about his heritage and his chosen path in life.  An excellent read and highly recommended for readers 5th grade and up.