Bibliophiles Anonymous

In this episode of Bibliophiles Anonymous, Denise and Jess read and review the book that made the news in Idaho with the latest rash of book banning - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.   Instead of just saying all book banning is wrong, we wanted to look at the book in a clear, unbiased manner to see if the book banners had any grounds to be upset. Guess what? They don't. This book is wonderful and inspiring. It's the story of Junior, a 14 year-old Native American boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. At the beginning of his life, Junior has many serious medical problems that leads him to be bullied and tormented by his peers. When a teacher on the rez encourages him to transfer to the all-white high school in nearby Reardan, Junior takes the risk and goes for it. This book talks about a lot of problems that many Native Americans face - poverty, alcoholism - and shows how one young boy struggles to make a better life for himself. It deals with trying to figure out