[11] His first novel, Porcupines and China Dolls (published in 2002 and reissued by Theytus Books in paperback in 2009[12]) examines the lives of students forced into the Canadian Indian residential school system [2] and the ensuing intergenerational or Historical trauma for them and their families.
As reviewer Jim Bartley wrote in The Globe and Mail, "On a September day in 1962, we enter the school (now "hostel") with two boys, James and Jake.
"[15] Author of The Lesser Blessed, Richard Van Camp's review of Porcupines and China Dolls suggests, "[t]his book will initiate more healing than any of us will ever know.
"[19] Alexie's sophomore novel, The Pale Indian (published in 2005), offers perhaps an even less clear historical debriefing than its predecessor, confirming King's suspicions about intended audience.
The Pale Indian takes place in the 1980s and surround's a young man's return to his northern community after being raised in Calgary by an adoptive white family.