A review by abkc1987
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

4.0

T.J., whose real name is The Tao, was born into a home with a mother who was addicted to crank and crack. T.J. is black, Japanese, and white. Despite growing up with anger issues, he has channeled his rage and grown into an attractive, athletic, smart, and witty (often sarcastic), young man. Despite his athletic ability, he's stayed away from organized sports at school because he despises the jocks, who think they run the school. When T.J. sees Mike, a football star, picking on Chris, a boy with disabilities, he takes action. T.J. forms a swim team of outcasts in opposition to the "cool" jocks at the school. Chris is T.J's first recruit for a swim team of misfits: "a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a psychopath." This would be a great novel for classroom use because it addresses self-identity and what it means to be a misfit.