Reflection on TATDOAPTI

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My overall opinion of the reading is quite vast. There are a few elements that really stood out to me as very well thought out and put together. First, the tone of the novel was very fitting for the story. While reading it, I felt as though I could hear the voice of Junior telling me everything that had happened to him and I sympathized with him. In addition to this, I believed the author did an amazing job at embodying the tone and vernacular of an adolescent. He expressed this train of thought in an especially ingenious way using all of the graphics and drawings that Junior had sketched. These sketches helped portray the emotions and attitude of Junior which provide insight for the reader.

I felt a very personal connection to the book because of Juniors' traumatic search for identity. Although I could not begin to fathom the struggles that goes along with growing up on the reservation, I can relate to the deep emotions that comes along with trying to transition into adulthood    but everything seems to go wrong. When I was fourteen, I was homeschooled with six siblings and my mom delivered a stillborn baby that traumatized the family. The year after, my siblings and I were placed into a private school and I had to learn how to socially interact with peers my own age. In this regard I felt very similar to Junior, because although I was now going to school, I still had to interact with all my hold homeschooled friends at church and I felt very split. It was not until recent years that I look back on everything and see how I have grown and how I have gained peace and perspective.

Overall, I think this novel tells an important story of a particular adolescent who did not experience the typical "growing up" of most teens, however, I believe that it is a very important one to be told and read. A story like this one should be studied by other adolescents to understand different culture and start to gain some perspective on greater world issues that is happening around them.

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