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Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
5.0

T.J. Jones is athletically gifted, but refuses to participate in organized sports. Fiercely independent and infuriated by injustice, T.J. hatches a plan to stick it to his high school's athletic pride after he witnesses a football player bullying a mentally disabled student for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket.

With the help of his English teacher, who has been told he needs to coach a sport, T.J. recruits a whole team of misfits for a swim team. Through the rigorous training and extended bus trips, T.J.'s collection of misfits gradually get to know each other and become a team.

Many issues arise, among them racism, child abuse, bullying, and guilt and redemption. One of Crutcher's best!