Junior has spent his entire life on the reservation in Wellpinit. Junior is already a miracle, having survived multiple operations to remove liquid from his brain as an infant and a number of subsequent seizures. He has an extremely intelligent sister who has done nothing more than hang out in the basement after graduating high school, a mother and father who are heads above some of his friends parents, by not beating him, showing their love for him and attending school events, but they also battle with alcoholism and struggle to keep food on the table. His saving grace is Rowdy, his best friend who happens to be the biggest bully at school. The two share a passion for basketball.
An altercation between Junior and a teacher gets him suspended, but Junior's life takes a pivotal turn when the teacher comes and tells him how smart he is and if he doesn't leave the reservation he is going to go just where his sister, parents and everyone else on the reservation are going: nowhere. So, Junior makes the decision to transfer to Reardan, the school twenty miles away with wealthier white kids and absolutely no indians.
Though, he has to hitch a ride or walk to and from school most days, racism runs rampant, and he is the new kid, Junior manages to not only make it, but excels. He makes friends, has a "sort of" girlfriend, makes the basketball team and does well in school. However, Junior must overcome much more with the backlash of his town turning against him when Reardon plays Wellpinit, the death of his sister and grandmother, and the shunning of his best friend.
Throughout, Alexi incorporates teenage humor, heartbreak, and triumph together seamlessly in a novel that is one for the ages.
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