For six years, thousands of Chris Crutcher fans have been waiting
-- eagerly anticipating a new young adult book. ÊWhale Talk,
the story of biracial Cutter High School Senior Tao Jones, thunders
into action, as if to make up for six years of lost time.
T. J. is smart. He's athletic. He's good-looking. ÊAnd he's
incredibly lucky for a kid who was adopted at birth. ÊHe understands
why his biological mother gave him up. ÊA black infant is a
little hard to explain when the mother and her husband are both
white. Besides, T.J.'s adoptive parents have always been amazing.
Aside for an occasional struggle with anger, T.J.'s grown up
pretty well.
What does give him considerable heartburn is the racism that
comes so easily for a few of the Cutter High jocks -- and the
lack of understanding from the coaches who let the slurs slide.
They might be a little more sensitive, T.J. knows, if he'd use
his natural athletic abilities to help Cutter High win. But
his anger makes the personal slams of coaches as hard to take
as the racial slurs.
All that changes when his journalism teacher asks him to head
up a swim team -- even if Cutter High doesn't have a pool. T.J.
is intrigued, and he takes the bait -- on two conditions. ÊHe
gets to pick his teammates. And even the most unlikely mermen
get a shot at a letter jacket when the aquatic season ends.
Chris Crutcher is not only a gifted storyteller, he is a licensed
family therapist. As a result, his teenage characters are so
authentic, you almost recognize them from home room, the neighborhoods,
or really bad dreams.
Whale Talk may be fiction, but it rings with truth.
It's an unforgetable story about friendship, bravery, and setting
the record straight -- a new classic, written by the best of
the best. Ê
Click here to buy: Whale
Talk at Amazon.com.
