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

14 year old Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, is a total dork living on the Spokane indian reservation. He is encouraged by a teacher to leave his community plagued by alcoholism and attend a pretigious white school. now he's teased by bullies at his new school and resented by his old friends for leaving them. Joining the basketball team seems to help his social status, but junior must come to terms with his family's issues, and what options he has as a native american living in poverty. This is a wonderful book, lots of quirky illustrations drawn by junior, and is also nominated for LOTS of book awards. 5 STARS! There is swearing and "mature" situations, be warned. Recommended for high school readers.