Betty Hicks (Children's Literature)
It is hard enough living with the name The Tao Jones, but seventeen-year-old T. J. is also partially black, white and Japanese. The only thing more diverse than his gene pool is the swim team he assembles for Cutter High. When Chris, a brain-damaged student, gets hassled by super-jock Mike for "illegally" wearing his dead brother's letter jacket, T. J. recruits "a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a one-legged psychopath" to form a team on which Chris can earn his own jacket. Readers will love this unlikely lineup of misfits who practice at the All Night Fitness pool with their custom-tape mix blaring rock, rap and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." A multi-layered plot includes the history behind T. J.'s personal rage, his foster father's bizarre karmic destiny, and an alumnus who makes his mixed-race daughter scrub away her blackness with a Brillo pad. Some of the details seem unbelievable, but readers will be so anxiously anticipating the not-so-predictable showdown between jocks, coaches, and "Cutter Mermen" they won't care. Once again, Crutcher captures perfectly the emotions and humor of teens facing injustices. His sensitive treatment imparts dignity and depth to kids that are different while telling one whale of an entertaining story. 2001, Greenwillow, $15.95 and $15.89. Ages 12 up.

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
Young adults have strong feelings about writers they depend on and admire, writers who live up to their expectations. Chris Crutcher's immediate appeal to young adults is his biting humor. They are also drawn into his novels by the sports themes and troubled heroes who use sports to work out their problems. Psychological and sports underpinnings are again present in his ninth novel, Whale Talk. The hero, T.J. Jones, is an anomaly in the small Washington town where he lives. Most of the residents are white and narrow-minded and T.J. is of Asian-black heritage and his mother, a drug-dependent young woman, named him The Tao. Fortunately, she gave him up to a wonderful couple and T.J. is sure of himself because his adoptive parents have let him work out early traumas. They have challenged him to be all that he can be. To fight the prejudice around him, T.J. builds an impossible swim team made up of misfit boys; among the five are a geek, a retarded boy and an angry young man who stuns competitors when he sheds his false leg before racing. All of these team members have suffered and their stories unite them as strongly as the team itself. T.J. also takes on prejudice by becoming the protector of a young biracial girl who would do anything to win the love of her racist stepfather. At one point, she even scrubs her skin raw with Brillo. T.J. triumphs when he faces his hardest loss, the death of his stepfather. 2001, Greenwillow, $15.95. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 5))
High-school senior The Tao (T.J.) Jones has learned to live with his status as the only student of color in his small, rural high school, but he has never learned to accept the school's suffocating reverence for the athletic establishment. When his ultra-cool English teacher approaches T.J. to swim for the school's brand-new team, T.J. looks beyond the negatives--there is no competition-size pool in town, there are no other competitive swimmers in the school, and he absolutely hates organized sports--to one overwhelming positive: this is his way of giving the finger to the school's stultifying sports culture. He assembles a team of out-and-out losers that would make James Watt proud: "we have one swimmer of color, a representative from each end of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a "one-legged" psychopath. When I envision us walking seven abreast through the halls of Cutter High, decked out in the sacred blue and gold, my heart swells." There is no shortage of raw emotion in this story. The swim-team members indulge in lengthy informal therapy sessions on their bus trips to away meets, and one subplot involves T.J.'s growing attachment to a little biracial girl whose mother cannot protect her from the vicious racist attacks of her own stepfather--who also happens to be the school's biggest athletic booster. In the hands of a lesser storyteller, the tale would fall apart under its own weight, but Crutcher ("Ironman", 1995, etc.) juggles the disparate elements of his plot with characteristic energy, crafting a compulsively readable story that rings true with genuine feeling and is propelled by exhilarating swimming action to an ending that is both cataclysmic and triumphant. A welcome return. 2001, Greenwillow/HarperCollins, $16.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2001 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, March 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 2))
T .J. is a high school senior of mixed race--black, Japanese, and white--living in the almost all-white small town of Cutter in Washington. He's adopted, but his attitude is "Big deal; so was Superman," and he adores his adoptive parents. Neglect and abandonment by his birth mother has left him with a deep-seated rage and an urge to protect the weak of the world. T.J. is intellectually as well as athletically gifted, but he's always resisted joining any of the school's sports teams: "something in me recoils at being told what to do." When his English teacher asks him to start a swim team, however, T.J. sees the opportunity to help out some underdogs and to spit in the face of the town jocks. He puts together a team of misfits--one is mentally handicapped, one is obese, one is one-legged, and so on--and with the help of the teacher and a friendly man who sleeps in the local health club, the team goes on to triumph, in their own fashion, working hard and bonding as a group. Meanwhile, T.J. has made some powerful enemies, and matters come to a head when a mother and her abused multiracial daughter take refuge in T.J.'s house and an unexpected tragedy ensues. Crutcher (author of Ironman, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and more) is one of the best YA authors around. Drawing on his experience as a family therapist and a child protection specialist, he understands the antiauthoritarian anger of teenage boys as well as the sports milieu he writes about so well. Here he tackles racism and prejudice as well as issues of violence, abuse, and forgiveness in a powerful story that will grab readers right away and have them rooting for the appealing and heroic T.J. Told with passion and humor, this is a real winner. Some profanity and violence. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 220p, 00-059292, $16.89. Ages 13 to 18.

M. Jerry Weiss (Parents Guide, Fall 2001 (Vol. 4, No. 1))
TJ, a talented athlete who refuses to participate on any of the high school's sports teams, agrees to recruit and lead a swimming team. The school doesn't even have a swimming pool. TJ brings together a group of misfits with the hope they will last the season and become eligible for varsity jackets. As the story unfolds, we see the unpredictability of these characters with their many problems. If only they can win win win! Reading about the swimming meets is exciting and the follow-up is provocative. 2001, Greenwillow, $15.99. Ages 12 up.

Len DeAngelis (The ALAN Review, Winter 2002 (Vol. 29, No. 2))
The narrator of Whale Talk is a The Tao Jones (his given name and pronounced Dow Jones); he is Black, Japanese, and White. The son of a woman who abandoned him when she got heavily into crack and crank, he grew up as a child filled with rage. Now, thanks to the help of a good therapist and good, loving, ex-hippie adoptive parents, T. J. has turned out to a pretty decent and even-keeled human being. One thing he is not and will never be, though, is a conformist. The Tao Jones (T. J.) is particularly sensitive to injustice; when the high school bully and big deal football star taunts brain-damaged Chris Coughlin, who wears his dead brother's football letter jacket, T. J. seeks revenge. His clever weapon of choice is the creation of a high school swim (despite the fact that his school has no pool) so he can prove that a band of school misfits are capable of winning coveted letter jackets, just like the cocky football players. Chris Crutcher writes in a style that reminds me of Stephen King. Although the violence in the book may be unsettling to some, the work does manage to combine craziness and realism to underscore the impact of coming to terms with differences. The swim team, and the togetherness this band of unlikely characters enjoys, help school outcasts find the true acceptance and friendship they've never had before. Kids read Chris Crutcher (Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Ironman, Athletic Shorts) because his works speak for them; he advocates in a manner that adults should pay attention to, as well. Category: Athletic Competition/Child Abuse. YA--Young Adult. 2001, Greenwillow, 224 pp., $15.95. Ages young adult.Newport, Rhode Island

Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2001 (Vol. 54, No. 8))
T.J. (short for his given name of The Tao Jones) hates the jock worship at his high school, which is why he’s gone through nearly four years without playing on a school team despite his considerable athletic talents. A mixed-race kid in a largely white town (T.J. was adopted in early youth), he’s gotten his share of hatred from the jocks (and their recent-graduate ringleader, Rich Marshall), too. He nonetheless ends up as captain and driving force behind his high school’s first swim team, which comprises a broad sampling of misfits, and he takes particular pleasure in using the swim team’s likelihood of lettering to taunt the überjocks, so tensions are running high. When Rich Marshall’s sons and stepdaughter end up in foster care with T.J.’s family, serious trouble seems inevitable. There’s more than a sprinkling of sentimentality here, and the book doesn’t avoid clichés about underdog sports teams (“I have never coached a team with the guts this team has,” the coach predictably proclaims); it also seems to waver a bit on some of its moral stands (physical threat seems to be variably acceptable). It nonetheless has a hard core of smoldering anger that is almost palpable, which a lot of readers will appreciate: T.J. is merciless in his disdain of the unjustly powerful in his world, and his victories over them provide a particularly sweet satisfaction. The book balances out the pleasure of those victories with a painful price (Rich Marshall’s revenge attempt kills T.J.’s father), but there’s pain throughout--what’s emphasized are the human bonds that can surmount and heal human destruction. The emotional dynamics are the main point here, and they’ll keep Crutcher fans--and other young adults disturbed by daily injustice--absorbed throughout. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2001, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2001, Greenwillow, 224p, $16.89 and $16.95. Grades 7-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2001)
T.J., an exceptional athlete who has refused to play on the school teams, agrees to lead a start-up swim team only to buck the system by signing up every needy misfit he can find and ensuring that each will win a letterman's jacket. This book has lots of melodrama, but Crutcher knows his stuff, and he pumps adrenaline through the sports scenes while honestly acknowledging the personal struggles of his adolescent readers. Category: Older Fiction. 2001, Greenwillow, 220pp, $15.95, $15.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 14, No. 1))
This book is perhaps Crutcher's best. In this ultimate tale of the "underdog" winning, our main character is named "The Tao Jones." Yes, his first name is "The." He calls himself "T.J.". He is a mixed-race young man who was adopted by his "nontraditional" parents after an early childhood of abuse and neglect. His father doesn't work and looks like a motorcycle gang member. His mother is a lawyer who works on child abuse cases. T.J. has never participated in organized athletics even though he has much natural talent. He has often participated in and won city competitions in basketball and other sports. Of course, the coaches in his school are not impressed because he will not play for them. When his favorite teacher asks T.J. to compete in a swim team, however, T.J. agrees on one condition--he will select his teammates. The team created through this agreement is unique, to say the least. It consists of a mentally retarded boy, the fattest boy in school, the boy who is so shy he will not talk, and others. Each of these boys has a past and reasons for wanting to belong, and that is the point of the whole novel. Crutcher expresses this idea creatively and humorously. At first, it is T.J.'s intention only to garner letterman jackets for his teammates--those boys who would never get one otherwise. However, as the story progresses, his ideas change, and he sees the growth and the camaraderie building around him. This is a book that will appeal to the reluctant reader and to those who "do not fit into society" easily. The story is full of humor and yet, there is also much sadness here. The plot includes child abuse, spousal abuse, prejudice, swimming, school, and athletics. There is a depth in the story, and it is filled with memorable characters. However, some of the minor characters are difficult to differentiate. The reader may become confused about who is who. One other negative is a "side story" at the end of the novel that relates to T.J.'s father and really doesn't need to be in the story. On the whole, this is a book to treasure. Please note that as with other Crutcher books, there is much profanity here. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 9-12. 2001, Greenwillow Books, 220p, $15.89. Ages 14 to 18.

Lisa A. Spiegel (VOYA, June 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 2))
Cartoon character Pogo's words "We have met the enemy and he is us" chillingly describe Crutcher's latest book in which hatred simmers, boils, and burns its characters. Narrator-protagonist T. J. is multiracial--black/Japanese/white--intellectually and athletically gifted, and sarcastic, his words both hilarious and insightful. T. J. eschews school sports until linebacker Mike harasses mentally handicapped Chris for wearing his deceased brother's team jacket, donning an unearned letter and unwittingly affronting those whose letters were merited. When administrators and the football alumni president condoned Mike, T. J. could not. Three years ago, T. J. had been victimized by Rich, the alumni president, and Mike after hearing them brag of a does they had killed and talk of its still-living fawn. Adopted and anti-hunting, T. J. empathized with the orphaned animal, attempting to rescue it before the animal is killed by the men who then attacked T. J. His response to their cruelty is to wear his bloodied clothes to school for a week. His action was encouraged by his attorney mother, whose practice centers on child abuse cases, and his wise father, a victim of a tragic past and now an advocated for the abused. T. J. now cannily forms a swim team under the guidance of his mentor teacher, although the school lacks a pool. His team, which features "one swimmer of color, a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a one-legged psychopath" to further infuriate administrators, practices at a commercial pool using unorthodox methods. As the team swims toward their goal of each member receiving a letter in the sport, administrators work toward denying them. Meanwhile, T. J.'s family receives custody of Rich's biracial child and becomes the target of his malicious and increasingly unstable behavior that stems from bigotry and anger. Readers should beware--although the ending is foreshadowed, it is shocking and horrifying, yet sadly realistic. Here "Whale Talk"--truth and self-knowledge--emerges, demanding characters' self-realization or change while demonstrating that bigotry plus hate will steal one's soul. Curiously this novel borrows heavily from other works--T. J., the team, and their teacher recollect Ironman (Greenwillow, 1995/VOYA June 1995); the swimming renews Stotan! (Greenwillow, 1986/VOYA April 1986); and the football mentality mirrors Running Loose (Dell, 1983/VOYA April 1983). The reliance on earlier themes might disappoint Crutcher fans, but will not deter them from devouring the book. Crutcher is at his darkest but also his funniest here, and the book conveys his most timely message--forgiveness, not revenge. VOYA CODES: 4Q 5P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Greenwillow, 219p, $16.95. Ages 15 to 18.