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Title details for Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher - Available

Whale Talk

by Chris Crutcher
Brian Corrigan
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
There’s bad news and good news about the Cutter High School swim team. The bad news is that they don’t have a pool. The good news is that only one of them can swim anyway. A group of misfits brought together by T. J. Jones (the J is redundant), the Cutter All Night Mermen struggle to find their places in a school that has no place for them. T.J. is convinced that a varsity letter jacket–exclusive, revered, the symbol (as far as T.J. is concerned) of all that is screwed up at Cutter High–will also be an effective tool. He’s right. He’s also wrong. Still, it’s always the quest that counts. And the bus on which the Mermen travel to swim meets soon becomes the space where they gradually allow themselves to talk, to fit, to grow. Together they’ll fight for dignity in a world where tragedy and comedy dance side by side, where a moment’s inattention can bring lifelong heartache, and where true acceptance is the only prescription for what ails us.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    January 29, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780739379813
      • File size: 188359 KB
      • Duration: 06:32:24

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 6.1
    • Lexile® Measure: 1000
    • Interest Level: 9-12(UG)
    • Text Difficulty: 5-7

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      When the author and the narrator BOTH have strong voices, the listener wins, big time. That's the case with WHALE TALK, an offbeat look at teenage angst by popular young adult author Chris Crutcher. Brian Corrigan does a first-class job of bringing the Cutter Mermen, a swim team populated by high school losers, splashing to life. From T.J., the mixed-race athlete who seems to relish not fitting in, to teammates with handicaps ranging from a metal leg to a learning disability, Corrigan makes these oddball individuals sound warmly human. This story offers devastating moments of truth and an unexpected ending. M.C. 2003 YALSA Selection (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 12, 2001
      Crutcher's (Running Loose; Ironman) gripping tale of small-town prejudice delivers a frank, powerful message about social issues and ills. Representing one-third of his community's minority population ("I'm black. And Japanese. And white"), narrator T.J. Jones voices a darkly ironic appraisal of the high school sports arena. Despite his natural athletic ability (at 13, he qualified for the Junior Olympics in two swimming events), T.J. has steered away from organized sports until his senior year, when Mr. Simet, a favorite English teacher, implores him to help form a swim team for the school (and thereby help the teacher save his job). T.J. sees an opportunity to get revenge on the establishment and invites outcasts to participate on the team; he ends up with "a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a psychopath." As might be expected, he accomplishes his mission: his motley crew of swimmers is despised by more conventional athletes (and coaches). The swimmers face many obstacles, but their dedication to their sport and each other grows stronger with every meet. The gradual unfolding of characters' personal conflicts proves to be as gripping as the evolution of the team's efforts. Through T.J.'s narration, Crutcher offers an unusual yet resonant mixture of black comedy and tragedy that lays bare the superficiality of the high school scene. The book's shocking climax will force readers to re-examine their own values and may cause them to alter their perception of individuals pegged as "losers." Ages 12-up.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 16, 2002

      "Featuring narrator T.J. Jones's darkly ironic appraisal of the high school sports arena, this gripping tale of smalltown prejudice delivers a frank, powerful message about social issues and ills," wrote PW
      in a starred review. Ages 12-up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:6.1
  • Lexile® Measure:1000
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:5-7

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