Part-Time Indian

As the main character Junior is a strong character. From birth he had to be, at birth he had 'water on the brain'. He fought through it and kept fighting. He faces a lot of difficult decisions throughout the book. He is a Native-American teenager who chooses to go to schooling off of the reservation at Rearden. He knows it will help him better his life. Most are born, raised, and die on the reservation. He wants to break the viscous cycle. After his decision to leave the reservation his best friend thinks Junior is a traitor. Above all that, once at his all white school where he is the only Native-American he has trouble fitting in there too. I personally am not sure if would have been able to choose to go to a school so far away from home, not knowing if I would have a ride the next day. I know he had rides a lot, or at least part of the way. Whether he hitchhiked or carpooled, even then there were times he had to walk a longways. Especially after school he would have to walk home for hours, just to do homework and get ready for the next day to do it all over again. I personally have been very lucky in my life with not having to go through  such hard times as this. I sense through Junior the theme of 'Overcoming'. In the story he joins the basketball team at school and has to end up playing against his old reservation's team. They end up winning and Junior feels like he took something away from his people. He keeps his sense of humor throughout his story. His grandmother and sister end up dying. This is a very hard time, his grandmother was very close to him. He feels responsible a bit for his sister because she too was inspired to leave the reservation. In the end it does not let you know whether Junior stays at Rearden or if he goes back to the reservation, but i have faith that he stays in Rearden and graduates and makes everyone proud, mostly himself and his beloved grandmother.