Review of “Whale Talk”

 This book is one I normally avoid- a YA fiction novel. I checked it out of the library for a reading challenge my local library is doing and thought, why not? It at least has a sport as the story - a swimming team. But wow, was this a great book! Only reason I didn’t finish it in one sitting was that I started it on a train ride to a hockey game and had to finish on the ride home, as I note in the review. Here is my review of “Whale Talk.” 

Title/Author: “Whale Talk” by Chris Crutcher

Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: It isn’t uncommon for high school students who are in the “popular” category to form a tight group of friends amongst themselves. However, it is NOT common for this type of group to become the swimming team for their high school. That is done in this excellent novel by Chris Crutcher. 

The idea for this team came from the main character, The Tao Jones (yes, that is the character’s name) who usually went by T.J. He falls into that outsider class as a Black student raised by white adoptive parents in a mostly white school. This school also prides itself on its sports achievements and T.J., while showing he’s an excellent athlete in sports outside of the school or organized leagues like pickup basketball. 

T.J. just doesn’t care until a developmentally disabled student, Chris, is bullied because he’s violating the school’s unofficial code by wearing his dead brother’s letter jacket. T.J. fends off the bullies and here he comes up with the idea of a swim team so others like Chris can earn letter jackets. He finds other students who are outsiders for various reasons, a coach and a bus driver to form this swimming team.

This review won’t give any more of the story, but just know that between the character development of T.J., Chris and the two main antagonists against this swim team, a reader will know them well. The same can be said for the rest of the swim team, T.J.’s parents and his girlfriend Carly, even though those last three characters are not as crucial to the storyline. T.J.’s dad, however, has a dark secret that becomes important later as do some other minor characters. Why they are important is that they help to show why T.J. is the person he is and also to illustrate the many complex issues facing young people today.

The descriptions of the swimming workouts and meets are brief but accurate for describing this type of competition with some of it off the usual course given the characteristics of these swimmers. I thought these were excellent and the last one, when T.J. was the only one swimming, had all the drama a good athletic event should have.

This was off the usual path of reading for me as I very rarely read a YA fiction book and I read this one as part of a reading challenge. The only reason I didn’t finish it in one sitting was that I started it on a train ride to a hockey game and had to finish on the ride home. So, no matter your reading tastes, if you pick this book up, chances are it will be one you will be glad you read. 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Whale-Talk-Chris-Crutcher/dp/0688180191/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 n