I was glad that this was the book we chose for the next installment of the CBR book club. I had been meaning to read it for ages. And while it wasn’t what I expected (first off, this book was way more “Y” than I generally expect in a “YA” book), it certainly didn’t disappoint. Arnold “Junior” Spirit lives on a Spokane reservation in rural Washington (I think) with his mother, father, sister, and grandmother. They live in poverty, familiar with hatred and racism, engulfed […]
Should be required reading for everyone
Arnold “Junior” Spirit doesn’t exactly have an easy time of it. Born poor and hydrocephalic, it’s pretty much a miracle that he survived infancy. Suffering from stuttering, his over-large head, bad eyesight and frequent seizures, he’s routinely picked on by both children and adults on the Spokane reservation, finding solace in basketball, his drawing and his best friend Rowdy. When Junior transfers away from the school on the reservation to get a chance at a real education, Rowdy feels deeply betrayed, like Junior’s sold out […]

