Study guides
Choose your week. Read, understand, and write.
Week 0 · Foundations
Race and identity
What is race?
Week 1 · Foundations
How we learn
What and how are we going to learn?
Week 2 · Foundations
Writing a strong paragraph
How do we write a good paragraph?
Week 3 · Foundations
Names, myths, and goals
How do myths work and what is mine?
Week 4 · Ch 1–3
Art, pain, and friendship
Why does Junior make cartoons and jokes out of everything that hurts him?
Week 5 · Ch 4–6
School, hope, and opportunity
Mr. P says the reservation teaches kids how to give up. What's his proof, and is he right?
Week 6 · Ch 7–9
Two schools, different rules
Rowdy punches Junior; Junior punches Roger. What does each punch teach Junior about the rules of his two worlds?
Week 7 · Ch 10–11
The costs of leaving
Grandmother says Roger respects Junior now. By Halloween, who respects Junior at Reardan, and who has turned on him at home?
Week 8 · Ch 12
Quarter response: costs and possibilities
What has leaving the reservation cost Junior, what has it bought him, and was it worth it?
Week 9 · Ch 13–16
Attraction, ambition, and race
Rowdy says Junior only likes Penelope because she's white. Is Rowdy right?
Week 10 · Ch 17–19
Poverty, honesty, and help
Junior spends the winter formal pretending he isn't poor. What happens when the truth comes out?
Week 11 · Ch 20–21
Basketball and belonging
At the Wellpinit game, the whole gym turns its back on Junior. Who has Junior's back now, and how do you know?
Week 12 · Ch 22–24
Grief, forgiveness, and care
Grandmother's last words are "forgive him." Why can she forgive the man who killed her, and why does her wake end in laughter?
Week 13 · Ch 25
Winning and unequal advantages
Junior finally beats Rowdy and Wellpinit. Why does winning make him cry?
Week 14 · Ch 26–27
Loss, blame, and responsibility
At Mary's funeral, Rowdy tells Junior "you killed her." Is that fair, and what does Junior think really killed his sister?
Week 15 · Ch 28–29
Many kinds of belonging
Junior decides he belongs to many tribes. Which ones, and how did he find each one?
Week 16 · Ch 30
Leaving and staying connected
The rez calls Junior a traitor for leaving; Rowdy ends the book calling him a nomad. Which one is he, and what proves it?