Author: Angela Sparks

Angela is a part-time PhD candidate at the University of Hertfordshire working on the children’s fiction of Louise Erdrich. She is particularly interested in the representation of indigenous identities in texts for children. Angela also teaches undergraduate seminars and is a former school librarian.
No comments

Resisting First Nations Stereotypes in banned YA Novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

  By , , ,

Since the book’s publication in 2007, Part-Time Indian has been ranked in the top five every year since 2010, reaching the top spot in the most recent list (2014). The reasons stated for the challenges include, but are not limited to; anti-family, cultural insensitivity, sexually explicit and depictions of bullying. However, Alexie “seamlessly layers class and racial identities on top of … more familiar adolescent struggles” ensuring that the novel can reach beyond the well-worn tropes of indigenous stereotype. Continue reading