2020 Common Read

The Thomas College Common Read is our invitation to join our academic community of individuals who share and explore ideas with each other.

After reading and reflecting on this year’s selection, we’d ask you to create a written response. During Fall Orientation, you will have an opportunity to discuss what you have written along with other students in your class.

The 2020 Common Read is:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie

ABOUT The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

From the publisher’s website: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sherman-alexie/the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian/9780316219303/

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, with a foreword from Jaqueline Woodson.

Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

With a forward by Markus Zusak, interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney, and four-color interior art throughout, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.