Why?

Before I begin my post, I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. In fact, I enjoyed the novel so much that I read the entire thing on the way to a college visit. However, although I enjoyed the novel, I honestly do not understand why we are reading this book. I don't understand how it fits in with the curriculum of the AP exam. Even today when we took our in-class essay, we were supposed to use works of literary merit. Again, don't get me wrong, I love this novel, but I do not think that it should considered of literary merit. Are you being nice, or do you have an ulterior motive?