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

Note: There are two posts for this book. I posted one a while back after reading the book, then posted this one after reading it recently for school.

Plot: a coming of age story from the perspective of a fourteen-year-old boy growing up on a Spokane Indian reservation. Junior looks around him and decides he doesn't want to be like everyone else; he doesn't want to give up all hope and live on the "rez" all his life, dirt poor and pathetically alcoholic. His parents tell him white people are the ones with the most hope, but Junior is determined to make it in the world despite his race.

Comments: this is a book commonly assigned for reading in high school, and I can understand why. It's a poetic and eye-opening story about life on a (relatively) modern day Indian reservation (yes, those still exist) and the efforts of a young Indian boy as he struggles against racism, poverty, and a depressing environment. The main character, Junior, is funny and painfully honest as he tells his story. He's just an average kid with major obstacles. Somehow it's easy to relate to him, even though his experiences are so different from most of the readers'.

His story is kind of depressing, but that makes it all the more important to hear. This book sends good messages to lots of different kinds of people, and I think anyone could learn something from reading this. There were tear-jerkingly sad parts and gut-wrenchingly hilarious ones, so I recommend you brace yourself. I also prefer reading it all at once, and it's a short book and easy to read, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Rating: I give this book an eight out of ten. It's very simple, but when you're telling the truth, simple is the best way to go.

The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

Plot: a teenage girl named Elnora dreams of going to high school in the city. However, her strict and stingy mother barely allows her to go, and refuses her the money she needs to buy books, supplies, and clothes. Elnora decides to sell moths and butterflies to pay for her tuition and such, and the more self-dependent she becomes, the more her mother sinks into bitterness for Elnora's birth and deep remorse for her husband's early death.

Comments: I really liked the character Elnora. She's a sweet, bright girl and loves all things in nature, and especially in her swamp, the Limberlost. She's kind and motherly and doesn't like making other people feel bad. I did think she was a little overenthusiastic, especially in thanking people and in explaining things. I found that the dialogue was rather stilted and almost as if it were written as a script. Several times one person's long-winded speech extended across two pages, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I skipped over most of those. The detailed explanations were also tediously long, but I have never had much patience for settings. The writing was skilled, however; it was very eloquent and delicate. I liked the way the author used words.

I disliked the mother at first (I believe you are supposed to), but I grew to like her toward the end. However, I found her dramatic change in personality quite unbelievable. After almost two decades, I don't think she could have improved so easily. In any case, I'm glad that Elnora had her as a mother, because they had some good times. I didn't understand why the forbidden romantic interest, Phillip, loved a selfish, attention-grabbing girl named Edith. It made me think he was too stupid and dim to deserve a selfless girl like Elnora. But I guess she loved him too, so there's that. But I didn't like how Elnora led Phillip on a wild goose chase and nearly killed him in doing so. I thought that bit was very selfish and stupidly done. Oh, well. I guess it was a nice, if a rather "happily-ever-after" ending.

Rating: I rate this book a seven and a half out of ten.

Kay Scarpetta Series by Patricia D. Cornwell

The books in the series I've read so far, in published order: Postmortem, Body of Evidence, All That Remains, Cruel and Unusual.

Plot: Kay Scarpetta is the medical chief examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a sharp-minded, professional woman. Though some acquaintances think her distant and heartless, Kay is actually a caring, mothering person - however, in her job, it often pays to keep a blank face and a cool head. As chief medical examiner, Kay performs autopsies (a form of investigative surgery on dead bodies) in an attempt to learn everything about the unfortunate person, from cause of death to stomach contents to health problems. Most of the bodies in the books are horrifically maimed in some way, adding to the drama and increasing the urgency of Kay's work.

Comments: I've noticed several common themes in the few murder mysteries I have read. One, the ones I read (though this is probably by choice) all have female main characters, and were all written by female authors. The main character is some kind of forensic or scientific expert rather than a detective or supervisor, and they often have someone dependent on them - either a daughter from a previous marriage (which they all seem to have had) or a niece, a friend, etc. They are professional and good at what they do, but there are always sexist, annoying men that antagonize them. They get into a relationship with a good-looking, protective, law-enforcement man of some kind, and try to keep it secret from everyone. At some point, the relationship deteriorates as the main character suspects them of unfaithfulness (or just disinterest). Then, without fail, the female main character falls into deadly danger and is rescued at the last minute by some male-figure, generally the one they'd had a relationship with. And that's the general idea of most mystery novels I've read. Why is it that the woman can't be the detective? And why does she always have to be rescued by a man? It's almost enough to put me off mystery novels. Almost.

This series is pretty good so far. I believe it goes on for a while. I don't particularly love Kay Scarpetta (which is unfortunate, her being the main character), mostly because she smokes and drinks and has a short temper. Also, I sometimes feel that she is rather cold and often paranoid. Altogether, I don't really like her as a person. The cases are okay, but I feel that the gory details try to make up for lack of detailed and complex mystery. Cornwell definitely likes describing the blood and exactly how many stab wounds and when they finally died, etc. I don't really mind it, but I know some people want a mystery novel rather than a horror film.

Another thing is that the writing is a little old-fashioned. The books I've read came out in the early 90's, but I still can't get over my feeling that everything is too scripted. I don't know anyone that talks as precisely and formally as these people - even when talking to friends or family, they use fancy words and just sound like they're in court testifying. It gets annoying. Finally, I'm continuously feeling that I've skipped a book or three. Time goes by so quickly in these books that it gets confusing. Spoiler alert!!! When I read Cruel and Unusual, I found out by vague comments that Mark, a man she had been in a relationship with, had died in a bombing, apparently somewhere between Cruel and Unusual and the previous book, All That Remains. I don't appreciate the way Patricia Cornwell skips important things and decides to mention them later on when she feels like it.

You may wonder why, if I don't seem to like these books very much, I keep reading them. Well, I don't know. I guess I just love murder mysteries, and I like the Detective Marino whom Kay works with. Who knows?

Rating: I rate this series so far a six and a half out of ten.