Written by: Chris Crutcher
APA citation: Crutcher, C. (2001). Whale talk. New York: Greenwillow Books.
Cover image: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49746.Whale_Talk
My summary of the plot: T.J. Jones is the ultimate teen-aged hero. He forms a high school swim team so that he can get a group of misfits letter jackets.
Keywords: Sports, swimming, racism
My assessment: This book has it all. It deals with small town racism, adoption, foster care, high school sports, swimming, basketball, motorcycles and therapy. There is some good advice to be had. That is what is genius about the book: there is good psychology in a book that we can actually get boys to read. This book is realistic fiction and would be easily marketable.
“I walk outside and scream at the top of my lungs, and it maybe travels two blocks. A whale unleashes his cry, and it travels hundreds or even thousands of miles. Every whale in the ocean will at one time or another run into that song. And I figure whales probably don’t edit. If they think it, they say it…Whale talk is the truth, and in a very short period of time, if you’re a whale, you know exactly what it is to be you” (N. P.).
Audio review: The book is well read by Brian Corrigan, however he is not believable as a high school student.
Citation for audio book: Crutcher, C. (2003). Whale talk. [Audio Recording]. Santa Ana, CA: Listening Library.
Review from a library journal:
Gr 8 Up –T. J. Jones, the mixed-race, larger-than-life, heroic, first-person narrator of this novel, lays out the events of his senior year, with many digressions along the way. The central plot involves T. J.’s efforts to put together a swim team of misfits, as he tries to upset the balance of power at his central Washington high school, where jocks and the narrow-minded rule. However, a number of subplots deal with racism, child abuse, and the efforts of the protagonist’s adopted father to come to grips with a terrible mistake in his past. Crutcher uses a broad brush in an undeniably robust and energetic story that is also somewhat messy and over the top in places. T. J. himself is witty, self-assured, fearless, intelligent, and wise beyond his years. In fact, he has all of these qualities in such abundance that he’s not an entirely plausible character. The novel’s ending sweeps to a crescendo of emotions, as T. J.’s mentally tortured father saves a life and atones for past sins by diving in front of a bullet and dying in his son’s arms. Young adults with a taste for melodrama will undeniably enjoy this effort. More discerning readers will have to look harder for the lovely passages and truths that aren’t delivered with a hammer.
Citation for book review: Morning, T. (2001). Whale Talk (Book Review). School Library Journal, 47(5), 148.
Recommendations for library or classroom use: I would use this for a book club or to recommend to students. I think male students would appreciate it more.
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