The book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is about Arnold Spirit, also known as Junior. He lives on the Spokane Reservation. Junior lives with his kind but alcoholic father, mother, tolerant grandmother, and his hermit sister, Mary Runaway. Junior was born with too much cerebral spinal fluid in his skull. The doctors had to drain the fluid out of his skull. This surgery led him to have seizures and other medical problems. Junior cries easily so he is bullied often on the reservation. His friend, Rowdy, who is mean and tough but protects Junior, is the most important person in Junior's life. Another important person in Junior's life is his father's best friend, Eugene, who is an optimistic alcoholic. On the first day of geometry class in his freshmen year of high school, he notices that his geometry book had been used by his mother at least thirty years before. Junior becomes angry and throws the book at his geometry teacher, Mr. P. While Junior was on suspension, Mr. P. stops by his house. Mr. P. asks Junior to forgive him because Mr. P feels that when he was a young teacher, he tried to take away the Indian way of life. Mr. P. tells Junior that Mary Runaway had wanted to be a Native American Romance Novelist, but lost her dream after she left high school. Mr. P. tells Junior that he has to leave the Reservation in order to find hope. That night, Junior asks his parents if he can go to Reardan High School. Reardan High School is a white school where fifty percent of the school goes on to college. Rowdy beats Junior up when Junior tells him that he is going to Reardan High School. On his first day at the new school, Junior punches Roger, the lead jock at Reardan High School, after Roger makes a racist joke. Junior earns Roger's respect after that. As time goes on, Junior begins to adapt to his new life at Readan High School. He makes some surprising new friends, and even has a chance to become a superstar. But, in the process, he will loose his old friend Rowdy even more. When tragedy touches his family, Junior will have to reconcile with his own choices in life, and come to terms with the people closest to him.