Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

Crutcher, C. (2001). Whale talk. New York: Greenwillow Books.

ISBN-13: 978-0-688-18019-5

Plot Summary

T.J. Jones is the articulate mixed-race son of white ex-hippie parents who adopted him after his biological mother got caught up in drugs when he was two. Now a senior at Cutter High School, he is persuaded to form a swim team for his teacher, Mr. Simet, who would rather coach a swim team than be the school’s next wrestling coach. With a group of seemingly misfits, the swim team beats the odds and is successful. Each member of the team is subject to his own conflicts, and each member brings to the team a unique strength. T.J. faces many conflicts along the way including making the team eligible for letter jackets, dealing with racism, and facing bullies. During this time, he meets Heidi, a small, mixed-race girl living in an abusive household. T.J. learns about life with the encouragement and support of his parents and his therapist, Georgia. When tragedy strikes his family, T.J. learns one of life’s most important lessons from his father.

Critical Evaluation

The location of the setting is significant to the plot and characters. Cutter is a fictional town set near Spokane, Washington, which is well known for its white-supremacy attitude. The fact-paced plot is adrenaline packed with swim meets and emotional episodes that cause the reader to think about what it means to be a family. Classic, one-dimension high school characters such as the oppressive bully and worshipped athlete contribute to the conflict. T.J. and his friends are more fully developed, each having their own back-story, conflicts, and motivation. Readers might associate with the feelings of being an outsider and an underdog in school and sports and the need for camaraderie and connection. Furthermore, the language in this first-person narration told by T.J. does not shy away from what could be considered offensive by some. The story is rich in themes, one being, as T.J. says, “to be loud when I run into racism” (3). Other themes include “we take what the universe gives us, and we either get the most out of it or we don’t, but in the end we all go out the same way” (20), and that revenge is never the answer.

 

Reader’s Annotation

 

 T.J. and his diverse group of swimmers must overcome odds and obstacles on their road to victory. Meanwhile, T.J. learns some valuable lessons about how to get by in this world despite what life might throw at you.

 

Author Information

 

Chris Crutcher was born July 17, 1946 in Dayton, Ohio. His parents were a WWII bomber pilot and a homemaker, and Crutcher credits the loving relationship he had with them for his ability to think and feel. He was not good in school, however, and the only novel he had read by the time he graduated Eastern Washington State College was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. He received a BA in sociology and psychology, earned a teaching credential, and became a popular, although not very good, teacher. He currently works as a therapist and child protection advocate and uses his life experiences in rural Idaho, urban Oakland, and in the education and mental health fields as inspirations for his writing.

Crutcher currently lives in Spokane, Washington, and enjoys swimming, basketball, running, and music. He often speaks at schools and conferences. Crutcher has won many awards for his writing, and his writing is frequently challenged for its content and language. In a response to a parent’s challenge in 2010 of his novel, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Crutcher writes:

            To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, one of the tough things about standing up against censorship is some of the (crap) you have to stand up for. (And yes, I edited myself - or Mr. Vonnegut - in deference to the complainant.)  But I have been an educator and I have been a therapist for families in particularly tough circumstances and the characters and situations in this book come from real places.  When we ban books about kids who feel marginalized and diminished, we ban the kids themselves.  We say, "Your life is not worth examining, not worth being brought into the light.  You don't matter."  I would want to think long and hard before allowing my school to be perceived in that way. (emphasis mine).

Information was obtained from Chris Crutcher’s website. For more information, please see:

http://www.chriscrutcher.com/

Genre

Young Adult

Reality Fiction

Sports
Swimming
High school
Racially mixed people
Adoption

Racism

Abuse

Curriculum Ties
N/A

Book Talking Ideas

High School sports culture, racism, bullies, adoption

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Characters are high school seniors; appropriate for ages 14 and up.

Challenge Issues

Language, racism, content

Challenge Defense

In defense of a challenge, I would cite these reviews as well as ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.

Book Links (A.L.A.) 12/01/02

Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/21/02

Book Report starred 09/01/01

Publishers Weekly starred 03/12/01

Booklist 04/01/01

Books for the Teen Age (NYPL) 05/01/04

Why did I include this title?

This was one of the first Chris Crutcher books I read and it remains one of my favorites. I admire Crutcher to bring to the forefront issues of racism and abuse in a sort of “in your face” kind of way. I have handed Chris Crutcher books to many of my reluctant reader boys and they always ask for another one.