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| Author | Chris Crutcher |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Laurel-Leaf Books |
| Publication date | 2001 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 220 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0440229383 |
| Preceded by | Ironman |
| Followed by | The Sledding Hill |
Whale Talk is a novel by young adult writer Chris Crutcher. It is narrated by The Tao "T.J." Jones, an adopted Asian-American teenager living in Cutter, Washington, a fictional location described in the novel as being within the Pacific Northwest's Inland Empire, about 50 miles outside of Spokane.
Contents |
Plot summary
The story takes place in Spokane, Washington. T.J. lives there with a couple who adopted him. They are known as Mom and Dad. He attends Cutter High School and refuses to play for their sports teams. In the hallway, T.J. sees a mentally challenged kid named Chris Coughlin being bullied by Mike Barbour. Chris is picked on mainly because Chris wears his step brother’s letter jacket. His brother was a star football player and he died. T.J.s English teacher, Simet, is starting a swim team and wants T.J. to be on it. T.J. goes to recruit players. He sees that Chris is a good swimmer and pictures that he will have a letter jacket of his own. The people T.J. recruits are all pretty comfortable in the water, but some are not so athletic. They are all unpopular and all have something that makes them different from everyone else. For example, Simon is really fat and Andy is missing a leg as a result of an act done by Rance Haskins. T.J. Jones is impelled to get everyone on the team letter jackets. The problem is the athletic council tries to prevent this from happening. The second problem is the Jones family gets caught up in a situation involving a little girl named Heidi. Her step dad is Rich Marshall, who is abusive towards Heidi’s mom, Alicia, and her kids. T.J. has already had a bad experience with Rich when he killed a baby deer from right underneath T.J. The Jones family needs to help Alicia’s family. When Alicia and her kids are sheltered at the Jones’ house, Rich performs shenanigans to acquire the mother and children. The last major problem in the story is that of Mr. Jones, T.J.’s dad. When he was a truck driver, he accidentally ran over a toddler. He never stopped regretting the incident. It haunts him constantly.
Characters in "Whale Talk"
Main Character
The main character in the story is The Tao Jones. His biological mother named him after a book. To avoid confusion and humiliation, his nickname is T.J. He is the narrator in the novel. He is adopted by people with the last name Jones, whom he calls Mom and Dad. T.J. is a virtuoso athlete, and is caring toward people who deserve to be cared for.
Others
There are many other important characters in the story. There is T.J.’s swim team. They are Chris, Tay-Roy, Andy, Jackie, Simon, and Dan. Each one is unpopular before joining the swim team. The coaches of the swim team are Simet and Oliver, also known as Icko. Simet is a teacher and Icko lives at the gym where the swim team works out. Rich Marshall is the big antagonist in the story. He is ominous and is known for his viciousness and his visits to jail for his acts. Mike Barbour is also an antagonist and bullies people at school. Heidi, who is the daughter of Rich Marshall's "wife," Alicia, who is a minority like T.J. and has problems with Rich Marshall.
Literary significance & criticism
This novel, like many of Crutcher's other works, is a target for challenges brought by individuals who believe the novel should be banned or removed from libraries and classrooms because of coarse language and other issues. Crutcher has compiled a history of the attempts to censor his books on his home page.
