I don't know whether to laugh or cry

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Based on Sherman Alexie's own childhood this story is both touching and funny. When Arnold Spirit Jr. opens his math book on the first day of school and discovers his own mother's name written in it from when she was a student at the very same school, he is incited to action. Transferring from the school on the Indian reservation to the public school in a nearby farmtown is the beginning of a new life for Junior. Feeling like he doesn't belong anywhere--the students at his new school ignore him, almost everyone on the res gives him the cold shoulder when he transfers--slowly changes to a realization that you can belong to more than the tribe you are born into. By the end of the book, Junior embraces his membership in the tribe of bookworms, basketball players, Spokane Indians, and more.

Sherman Alexie has been nominated for the National Book Award for this title. See the article below:

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=alexie11&date=20071011&query=sherman+alexie+national+book+award