---
product_id: 4214949
title: "Whale Talk Paperback – June 30, 2009"
brand: "chris crutcher"
price: "€ 29.81"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.fi/products/4214949-whale-talk-paperback-june-30-2009
store_origin: FI
region: Finland
---

# Whale Talk Paperback – June 30, 2009

**Brand:** chris crutcher
**Price:** € 29.81
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Whale Talk Paperback – June 30, 2009 by chris crutcher
- **How much does it cost?** € 29.81 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.fi](https://www.desertcart.fi/products/4214949-whale-talk-paperback-june-30-2009)

## Best For

- chris crutcher enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted chris crutcher brand quality
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## Description

Full description not available

## Images

![Whale Talk Paperback – June 30, 2009 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/5113IWSiaoL.jpg)
![Whale Talk Paperback – June 30, 2009 - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51P8eep3VIL.jpg)
![Whale Talk Paperback – June 30, 2009 - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41JKQyHvxiL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    love, and sacrifice
  

*by E***L on Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016*

When I began reading Whale Talk, I thought I would be reading a story about a teenager struggling to put together a swim team at his very athletically-driven high school (as suggested by the synopsis). What I ended up reading, however, was a story about perseverance, acceptance, tolerance, love, and sacrifice.Crutcher's protagonist, T.J. Jones, is a rare gem of a character. Having survived an early childhood of neglect and being the target of racism in his mostly white school, T.J. has plenty of reasons to be angry. However, he remains stoic in the face of adversity, refusing to rise to the racial taunts of his enemies. In fact, what makes him such a wonderful character is that his indignation and sense of justice are not reserved for himself but for others who fall outside the scope of the "in" crowd. His effort to put together a swim team is driven by an injustice he witnesses towards another classmate. In a school driven by athletics, he walks a precarious slope with the individuals on his team who fit plenty of categories--mentally challenged, handicapped, mute, overweight--except athletic. Still, T.J.'s drive and determination help whip this group of misfits into a competitive swim team in no time flat.Of course, from the arc of the swim team come many other compelling story lines--abuse, death, racism, and forgiveness. Crutcher seamlessly weaves these threads into the story by putting T.J. front and center. By witnessing and even participating in other characters' difficulties--the racial abuse inflicted upon a five-year-old girl of mixed race, the tragedy of his father's past, the sexual abuse suffered by one of his teammates--T.J. is better able to put his own life into perspective with guidance from his loving adoptive parents and his therapist.Although the last 20 pages or so stray into melodrama, this book is powerful on so many levels. Images--the deer, the Brillo pad--will stay with the reader long after the book has been closed. At the core of its message is the idea that no one really knows what difficulties others are facing, a poignant message given the times we live in.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Top 5 YA Books of All TIme
  

*by J***N on Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2003*

Whale Talk is a book that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The books warms the heart, infuriates, teaches, and opens the eyes of any reader that picks this book up.The Tao Jones is a mixed race character who is adopted from a drug-addicted mother. Tao is taken in by a truck driving dad and lawyer mother who are just about the coolest parents on earth, but they aren't without their own baggage.Whale Talk is a masterfully woven tale that traces Tao through his struggles in a racist society that is also a little elitist. Tao, like most of Crutcher's protagonists, is a great athlete with a strange sense of humor. Tao enjoys getting even with those who single out he, or any other character in the high school that is different, by using the predators' ignorance against them.All in all, this is an honest portrayal of a complex mix of race, family secrets and small town routines held up by the Good Ol' Boy system along with serious developmental pshychological issues.This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, but most importantly, it will make you examine your inner-most being in ways that will surprise you.Chris Crutcher is the undisputed King of YA Literature, which he proves with his most powerful YA novel to date.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Where was this book when I was a teen
  

*by A***T on Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2021*

Oh my god, ok, so, this book needs to gain a lot more traction.  It is such an amazing story with a protagonist and supporting characters that you will cheer for all the way through.  It is so gut-wrenchingly good at talking about abuse that I kept reading parts over and over again just to hear them for myself; words I wish someone would have told me as a teen.

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*Product available on Desertcart Finland*
*Store origin: FI*
*Last updated: 2026-03-17*