Flight

Alexie, Sherman. Flight. New York: Black Cat, 2007. 181 pages.


Flight is a novel that is told through the eyes of 15-year old Michael, so-called “Zits” because of the pimples that grace his face. Zits is an orphaned teen living in Seattle, bouncing from foster home to foster home. Zits struggles with issues of identity and purpose, having been born to an Irish mother who has since passed and an Indian father who abandoned him and his mother. Zits explains that though he has not learned about his cultural identity from his parents, he has vivid memories and flashbacks all the way back to his conception. Zits expresses his Zits is arrested for pushing his foster mother and meets a white kid named “Justice” in the juvenile detention center. To Zits, Justice appears thoughtful, well-read and full of good ideas. He and Justice practice shooting pictures of historical figures they don’t like, and eventually come up with plans to commit random acts of violence. Zits enters a bank, opens fire, and eventually feels as if he has been shot in the head. With this trauma, Zits begins to travel back and time and inhabit the bodies of various historical figures during significant points of Native American history, many of them characterized by needless violence. The last person he inhabits is his father, and Zits begins to find peace with his father’s decision to leave. Eventually, Zits returns in the bank and decides there is too much at stake to continue with the shooting. Eventually, he is taken in by a police officer with whom he has developed a relationship and starts to find peace with his own identity.


Teachability:
Students at large will likely identify with this novel, as it is told through a strong teen voice. Though the main character is male and has a history of violence and arrests, girls could still relate to his struggles with identity and intrapersonal development. This book is probably most appropriate for 8th graders or early high school students since it deals with violence, sexuality and has inappropriate language. I would probably use this book as a part of a literature circle unit that deals with coming of age and issues of identity or suggest for independent reading. The book could also work well as a whole-class unit in tandem with social studies instruction.