In Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior’s first name is Arnold.
Arnold Spirit Jr. is the novel’s narrator and central character. He lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State and decides to attend a mostly white high school in the nearby town of Reardan. The choice separates him from many of his reservation classmates, including his best friend Rowdy.
Junior is called by his nickname throughout much of the story, which is why readers can overlook his given name. His drawings, reproduced as cartoons in the book, are an important part of how he interprets poverty, identity, friendship, and ambition.
The novel was published in 2007 and won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature that year. It also received the 2008 Odyssey Award for excellence in audiobook production. Alexie wrote the text, while Ellen Forney created the illustrations.