Match BookThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
2007 · 230 pages · Young adult
How it reads
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is young adult (young-adult coming-of-age, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a small town setting, in the recent past, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are coming of age, identity and friendship. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 230 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something funny
- you want a complete story in one book
- you're drawn to stories about coming of age
Maybe not if…
- you need something melancholy, dark or tense
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- young adult
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- established
- Setting: place
- small town
- Setting: time
- recent past
- Mood / feeling
- funny
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- balanced
- Length
- short
- Narrative style
- first person, one narrator
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- well known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- coming of age, identity, friendship
- Ending style
- bittersweet
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
The Society of SSusan HubbardShares: young adult, funny mood, balanced tone, moderate pace- Anatomy of a MisfitAndrea PortesShares: young adult, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending
Goddess of YesterdayCaroline B. CooneyShares: young adult, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending- Every DayDavid LevithanShares: young adult, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending
- GingerbreadRachel CohnShares: young adult, balanced tone, young-adult coming-of-age, moderate pace
- ScrawlMark ShulmanShares: young adult, balanced tone, moderate pace, bittersweet ending
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