Whale Talk
by Chris Crutcher
List Price:
Our Price: $4.95
You Save: $2.04 (29%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Chris CrutcherEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-12-10
ISBN: 0440229383
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Book Reviews of Whale Talk
Book Review: "Whale Talk" by Chris Crutcher
Summary: 5 Stars
T.J. Jones' English teacher, Mr. Simet, challenges him to put together Cutter High's first-ever swimming team. The anti-establishment T.J. answers that challenge by forging a team in his image: a collection of loners and misfits. This attempt to sully the precious letter jacket has the football establishment that rules Cutter up in arms. T.J.'s role as the leader of this team makes him a target for a lot of pent up hostility not only within the school but also in the surrounding community.Chris Crutcher weaves together a brilliant story about challenging the status quo and finding the common humanity that unites those who believe themselves alone in the world. The team T.J. puts together is symbolized perfectly by Icko, the accidental coach who lives at the gym and works shifts at two different fast food restaurants. Each of the other boys reveals himself and some way, and Crutcher demonstrates beautifully the depth of feeling within those who are most commonly overlooked.
The themes of racism and domestic violence may be disturbing to many readers, and rightly so. But they serve a purpose in the book; they remind us that those who are idolized and seen heroes do not always deserve such adulation. And those who truly strive to do good deeds are sometimes pushed by guilt over past failings. By presenting a book with such dynamic characters and heart wrenching storylines, Chris Crutcher gives us a book that forces us to think about what it means to be human.
Fiction Books
- Books > Subjects > Teens > Sports & Hobbies
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Fiction Books
The Boxerby Kathleen Karr
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); Published: 2000-10-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Can I Play Queenie?by Jill Paton Walsh
Bodley Head Children's Books; Published: 1990-09-06; Hardcover; Book
Gary Lineker's Favourite Football Storiesby Gary Lineker
Pan Mac Children's; Published: 2003-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $130.54
Shut Outby Kody Keplinger
Poppy; Published: 2011-09-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.51
Price in other shops:
Tough to Tackle (Matt Christopher Sports Classics)by Matt Christopher
Little Brown & Co (Juv); Published: 1972-06; Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops:
The Secret Countryby Pamela Dean
Firebird; Published: 2003-10-13; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
The Kings Are Already Hereby Garret Freymann-Weyr
Speak; Published: 2004-10-21; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Backfield packageby Thomas J. Dygard
Puffin; Published: 1993-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $81.41
Slam! (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Point Signature)by Walter Dean Myers
Turtleback; Published: 1998-11-01; School & Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops:
Farm Teamby Will Weaver
HarperTeen; Published: 1995-06-30; Library Binding; Book
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Literature and Lives: A Response-Based, Cultural Studies Approach to Teaching Englishby Allen Carey-Webb
National Council of Teachers of Engish; Published: 2001-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.00
Price in other shops:
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolutionby Ji-li Jiang
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-06-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.09
Price in other shops:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963by Christopher Paul Curtis
Random House; Yearling; Published: 1997-09-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
A Step From Heavenby An Na
Speak; Published: 2003-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.85
Price in other shops:
Light of Faithby Janie, Ph.D. Gustafson
Harcourt Religion Publishers; Published: 2003-03-01; Perfect Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.17
Price in other shops:
American Born Chineseby Gene Luen Yang
Square Fish; Published: 2008-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.29
Price in other shops:
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghostsby Maxine Hong Kingston
Vintage; Published: 1989-04-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.54
Price in other shops:
Speak (Platinum Edition)by Laurie Halse Anderson
Speak; Speak; Published: 2006-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1)by Ursula K. Le Guin
Spectra; Published: 2004-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.80
Price in other shops:
Monsterby Walter Dean Myers
Amistad; Published: 2001-05-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops: