Sometimes the most unpromising circumstances can yield amazing results. Take Junior, an American Indian living on a reservation, add a jaded, clapped-out teacher, who in a moment of clarity and repentance gives Junior some unexpected advice, and the result is an inspiring fictionalised autobiography of author Sherman Alexie.

Junior believes his fate is to live out his life on the reservation as his family have done, which on the whole means poverty, alcoholism and the possibility of a young death (ring a bell?) but his life takes a surprising turn which leads to alienation by many of his reservation peers and initial ostracising by the students of the all-white high school he decides to attend.

Now I can hear you thinking this won’t interest Australian teenagers, but this inspiring story of tragedy, love, sorrow and triumph will have universal appeal, because Alexie’s journey illustrates the power of the spirit to rise out of the ashes of despair and still feel love and understanding, rather than bitterness and shame. This is an evocative story, told with humour and an unflinching honesty, that will resonate in Australia as we face similar dilemmas with our indigenous population.