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Liked It “Read in 2008. T.J. Jones is a misfit in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. A good athlete, but not a joiner, a kid with a well developed sense of fairness and a cocky attitude, he forms a swim team made up of misfits to prove to the in kids that everyone has worth.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Read in 2008. T.J. Jones is a misfit in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. A good athlete, but not a joiner, a kid with a well developed sense of fairness and a cocky attitude, he forms a swim team made up of misfits to prove to the in kids that everyone has worth.”
Linda V wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Funny story about a group of kids from different social circles coming together to start a school swim team.”
Book Lady wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A great way to handle popularity in high school. Another great voice. Also, a bit sad but still worth the read....Loved it.”
Laura P wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This emotional and touching story is about a boy named Tao Jones (also known as T. J). T. J is a typical high school student, but one thing that he faces in his life is a typical clique story in real life. T. J wants to become popular in his school and in order to do that he must have his own sports jacket. This is a typical clique story about a boy who wants to fit into the popular crowd. This story is in a way relatable because I am in high school myself and I can understand the perspective of this story better. T. J and a bunch of people sign up for the swim team in school. This team however is not as normal as you may think it is. This swim team is made up of misfits and the excluded people in the school. This team is built up of people who have problems like typically excluded members of a high school community. These people include nerds, musicians, obese people, bullies, and even a mentally retarded person. I think that this book was a very interesting book because even till this day I feel that people in high school are excluded from other social groups because of their achievements and also physical and mental backgrounds. This book was a very interesting and enjoyable book. The adventure of T. J to his acceptance was a truly fascinating journey.”
Johnny Qiu wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ A good read. It's about athletics and other stuff, so i like it.”
Stephen G wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“One of the best teen novels I've ever read. T.J., an engaging articulate teenager with an uncanny sense of self, is a fish out of water: a biracial adoptee in the monocultural Pacific Northwest, a natural athlete who refuses to participate in his school's pervasive jock culture. When a disabled classmate is bullied for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket, T.J. hatches a brilliant plan: create a swim team composed of school misfits who can earn athletic letters of their own. The Mermen: one overweight, one nerd, one developmentally disabled, one with a prosthetic leg; eventually win respect and admiration across the state, and their friendship brings out unexpected depths of character and talent in them all.
Lesley W wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Residents of small town Idaho and Washington, and former school athletes may squirm at the novel's depiction of casual racism and misogyny in those cultures, and I admit that the characters are either completely likable or satanically evil. Yet this is a wonderful story of how one courageous, determined teen can make a huge difference in the lives of people around him.”“ Whale Talk is about T.J. Jones, a multicultural misfit in his rural Washington town who decides to start a swim team composed of equal misfit students from his high school. T.J's goal is for everyone to get the proud varsity letter jackets that is so dignified in his high school. Throughout the book, TJ and his team faces opposition from both the school and the town.
jimmy w wrote this review Monday, November 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Personally, I really enjoyed Whale Talk because the story is centered around something all high schools students can relate to. We have all been outcasts in our different ways but TJ Jones serves as an example that anything discrimination can be countered.
This book has a long history of censorship. It is very graphic and depictive of sexual, physical and social abuses that may occur to any person. Whale Talk has been constantly on ALA's Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books for Young Adults.
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“I did not take me long to find out why this book was banned.”
Reagen G wrote this review Friday, October 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Karlie: The main character in this story is named T.J. Jones. The Jones adopted him because his mother chose to give him up after she got too addicted to drugs. T.J. was known as a good athlete, but he refused to conform and play a varsity sport for his talent-craved school. Receiving a letter jacket in Cutter High School is a major honor. When T.J. sees a guy bullying a mentally handicapped kid, Chris, for wearing his dead brother’s letter jacket he gets inspired. His teacher asks him to start a swim team. Back in the day, T.J. used to be a really good swimmer. He sees Chris at the pool and decides he would be a good addition to the swim team and he could earn his own letter jacket instead of wearing his brother’s. Each of this other recruits has their obvious differences as well. T.J. sets up an agreement with the athletic council to align letter jackets for the boys. But the athletic council does everything in their power to get out of giving the boys their earned jackets. Though the team is doing well, T.J. ends up throwing a race in order to get the athletic council to stop protesting giving out the letter jackets.
Karlie R wrote this review Tuesday, October 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book was banned in several schools for its use of profanity. Many believed that if they allowed their children and students to read this book they may begin using the terms used in the story. The author Chris Crutcher refused to edit the book because he though the use of language was important to get a good idea of the story and how their lives were.
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