Stotan!

by Chris Crutcher

Stotan: A cross between a Stoic and a Spartan

It's the last swimming season for Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff, and their coach is building their self-discipline in a grueling four-hour-a-day test of stamina designed to bring them to the outer edge of their capabilities.

As it turns out, Stotan Week is also the week in which secrets are revealed, and the four friends must draw upon their new strengths for an endurance they never knew they'd need.

Genres: Young Adult, Sports, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Contemporary, School

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Chris Crutcher's writing is controversial, and has been frequently challenged and even banned by individuals who want to censor his books by removing them from libraries and classrooms. Running Loose and Athletic Shorts were on the ALA's top 100 list of most frequently challenged books for 1990-2000. His books generally feature teens coping with serious problems, including abusive parents, racial and religious prejudice, mental and physical disability, and poverty; these themes are viewed as too mature for children. Other cited reasons for censorship include strong language and depictions of homosexuality. Despite this controversy, Crutcher's writing has received many awards.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fictional book is written from the perspective of Walker. Walker, Nortie, Lion and Jeff are four high school swimmers and friends. They are overcoming a series of problems such as being abused at home, fighting leukemia, suffering from grief, and being neglected. They band together when they are challenged by their coach (also visionary) Max to participate in Stotan week. This is when they have a vacation from school but put themselves through grueling swimming practices to test themselves physically and mentally. They become stronger and they bond. They realize that having achieved this week they can face problems and solve anything. Stotan is an invention of the author combining the words “stoic” and “spartan.” As a group they stand up to bullies who are distributing racist propaganda around them. The swimming exercises are interesting. I really liked the budding friendship of the young men. I hope for this kind of opportunity and result for all our maturing youth. There is the character of a female swimmer, too, named Elaine. She does not participate in Stotan Week, but she is participating in strength training in her own way. The male perspective that dominates the book is the kind of book that I challenge myself to read more of. My reading is heavily skewed female. We read anything by Chris Crutcher for the January book group at our library which met on January 10, 2025. The group is called READ standing for “Read, Enrich, Advise and Discuss.”

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In writing this review I am trying to keep in mind that I am not its intended audience. If I were a teenage boy I would have loved this book. As an adult man I think it is okay, if a little boring.
“Stotan!” is a very dated text, especially when it comes to some minor subplots, particularly one concerning a student teacher dating a student (this could happen in 1985, when book was published) but is unfathomable, and illegal now. There is also a plotline that involves students and the Aryan Nation which seems like no big deal nowadays as that “threat” has long since diminished.
However, the text has many pluses, among them the fact that it’s male teenage characters (who are athletic and “manly”) show their emotions, which is a good thing for teenage boys, the intended audience, to see demonstrated. The story revolves around four friends who are swimmers on the high school team, who face some challenges of life together. There are many nice lessons and ideas presented in this novel. As an adult you see how weakly plotted it is, but a teenage reader would quickly be caught up and learn some nice insights about living and human nature while reading it. Pages 128 and 188 have some wonderful passages that any reader regardless of age would benefit from and to see a young adult novel that does not pander to its audience is refreshing.
All in all “Stotan!” has a nice ending and an observant young reader will take some valuable lessons from it. That is more than can be said for many of the options out there.

[Caleb Newkirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. It had everything I was looking for in a book. It threw in a good amount of romance and comedy to balance out the book. Besides the little romance the book was serious and focused on the drive of people. The whole idea of the book is to push yourself so far you almost zone out and can push your body to places it has never been. This book doesn’t just help you learn to push yourself to those limits while working out but in life in general it could help you fight through many things of your life until you excel at it. The life lessons this book teaches you are given in a very clever way. I encourage you to read this book and it would make it even better if you thought past the words on the page and take everything in depth. If you truly think about what is being said you can take away the most life lessons. The lessons I learned from this book have already impacted my life. I am more focused on pushing through things I don’t want to do in my life to better the life that I am living. The book is about a workout, but I have used what I experienced vicariously through the book to better myself in school. I have been more focused on the reward from school and not the work itself. I will say that if you read this book (which you should) it will be a good read but also be so much more....

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.2 stars. What an odd book with a deep story and a nice, philosophical meaning behind it.

At the beginning of reading (primarily during Stotan week) it was clear to me why Stotan took the “Spartan” part of its name, but not exactly the “Stoic” bit. This, however, becomes more clear towards the end of the story in a bittersweet life lesson learned.

The meaning of Stotanism throughout the story shifts from being a state in which the human body experiences a euphoric moment of sheer will, strength, and determination to complete a task into the ability to accomplish and achieve in the face of adversity.

I admire how the events in this story are as wild and unpredictable as life can be, which is why Max encourages the boys to be Stotans in the first place— to accept life as it is and continue as a stoic would rather than cling to the details of what used to be and why it happened. This book is primarily about putting your best foot forward in a world that constantly tries to shift the ground beneath you.
You are not guaranteed the story you absolutely wish to happen for you, and it is better for life to constantly change and move in unexpected ways so that you may grow from the mistakes and grief that comes with it.

As Walker says, “The set stays the same; only the players go through changes.”

Nice!! :D

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book many times in my life. It continues to be a favorite.

[Emma Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. I love the books by Chris Crutcher. There is so much detail in his books and he actually writes about things that could actually be happening in someone's house. I love the way he portrays teen-life because it's real. The one the I did not enjoy about this book is that the book doesn't have closure in a sense, we don't find out what happens with Devnee or Jeff which makes me upset an frustrated, but overall this was a really good book.

[BRANDON SCHEER · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. I liked it because it was mature and realistic. It had events that aren’t just happy and ending happy. Some ended bad or not how you expected it.

The plot of this book was about four boys on a swim team. The coach of the swim team, Max, was a master of karate and jiu jitsu. He also was very wise. A Stotan was a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan. A Stoic was a person who can deal with pain or hardship without showing feelings or complaining. A Spartan was an ancient Greek culture. They were great warriors and would fight as long as they could, no matter what. The reason this was in the book was because it was Stotan Week. The purpose of this week is to become as much of a Stotan as you can. These four boys, Nortie, Jeff, Walker, and and Lion, were the only four who entered. Stotan Week was a five day hardcore workout. They had to get up very early in the morning and start. The first day they went beyond their limits by doing sprints in the pool and push ups. They went home and were beat. The second day they came back and started, all four of them went into “workout mode” and didn’t even think about what they were doing. They weren’t as sore that night. The third day went just like the second did and they were not very tired. The fourth day they felt cocky because they thought it was easy. Since they thought of it like this when they were working out they got very tired and that night they were very sore. The fifth day went the same but they worked as hard as they could so it ended a little early. After that swimming season started. The four boys are the only four that swim at that school, but their times were all up at least one second than before Stotan Week. They were all focused on making it to state. All of them made it, except Jeff, who would have made it but got sick. He had to go to the hospital and there they decided it was best for him to go home to his hospital. There he was diagnosed with a bad blood disease. The book doesn’t tell the reader what it was exactly. He got very sick and was very weak and upset. None of the medication was working for him so everyone got even more worried. The other three boys decided they had to go to state and win for him. They went to state and did their best. They took first in a few events. When they got back they realized that Jeff was very sick and was not going to get better. He was going to die, and everyone finally accepted that. They understood what had to happen and they were going to act like Stotans. Walker decided he needed to tell his girlfriend exactly how he felt about his relationship and that is what he will do.

I would recommend this book mostly to boys who are at least teenagers. It is a little tougher to follow and has many pages than other books but is a very good one and has great messages in it.

[Carl Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book “Stotan!” by Chris Crutcher. I thought that the book was very well written and had a fantastic plot. Four best friends try their hardest to go to state, but learn valuable life lessons along the way. They learn this lesson because as the boys get closer to state, Jeff develops a rare blood disease that keeps him from competing at the state swim meet. The book had an inspirational message that was made clear near the end of the book in a drastic turn of events. The message is to live life to the fullest, because you never know when your time is up. The book flows well because there are not many difficult words and there is never a dull moment.

In the story Walker is the narrator. He is one of the best swimmers and has to deal with a troublesome love life throughout the book. Lion is one of Walker’s best friends, he is the strongest in the group, and lives by himself in an “apartment”. Nortie is also one of Walker’s best friends, he is beat by his father, and is picked on because he has a black girlfriend. Jeff is the funny comedian of the group, but comes down with a serious illness which keeps him from going to state.

The story takes place mostly at Frost High School, where the main characters go to school. During the book they also travel to Montana for swim meets. It is set in the year 1986.

Overall I would give “Stotan!” four and a half out of five stars. The book flowed very well and was easy to read. It kept my interest throughout the whole story and is appropriate for most age groups. Because of these factors I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction and likes not knowing what is going to happen next.

[Corey Schmidt]

I read the book “Stotan!” by Chris Crutcher. I thought it was a very good book. It was well written and had a very good message in it. It also went through many other things that teens go through such as friendships and love. It was a very moving book about four guys on a swim team that trained their hardest to win events and eventually try and go to state. Their swim coach, Max, invites them to do a Stotan week to test their abilities. The book takes a turn for the worst when Jeff finds out he has a rare blood disease.

The main character and narrator is Walker. He is a very good swimmer and has very conflicted feelings about the girls he likes. The next character is Nortie. He is one of Walkers best friends. He is a quieter guy and is also abused by his father. Lion is also another important character. He is the biggest of the group and is also one of Walkers best friends. Jeff is the last of the four man team. He is the comedian of the group but finds out he has a blood disease at the end of the book.

The book takes place in the year of 1986. It mostly takes place at their Frost High School, which is where they go to school. It also takes place at some of the meets they go to.

In all, I thought the book was a very good book that tied into many controversial topics that high schoolers have to deal with. It made me want to keep reading and was not too difficult to understand. It also had some twists to it that I didn’t see coming. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to read a suspenseful book about the life of high schoolers. It was not difficult to understand so anyone could read it.

[Louis Knecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the book “Stotan!” was very good. I like how the author had so many things happen to the main character, Walker. I thought that was very interesting. Overall, I think it was a well thought out good book.

In the plot a lot of events happened. Walker was a very good swimmer and on the swim team. The swim team had a week in Christmas vacation called Stotan week. In that week the team went through a lot of very hard workouts that pushed them as far as they could go. They survived and went on with their lives. Towards the end of the book one of Walker's best friends Jeff got very sick and most likely will die. The swimming team was very sad but they kept going. They went to the state meet and either won or finished high in their events.

I would recommend this book to all high school males because the main characters are all male. It is a great book to read and a touching story.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't quite ready to leave Chris Crutcher's books when I finished Whale Talk. So I picked this one up. It's an earlier book, and it also features a swim team. I didn't like it as well, but then, a book I didn't like as well by Chris Crutcher is usually better than by a lot of other YA authors. This one started out a little slow, and at first I thought it was going to be a bit too simplistic, but it wasn't. I really loved the relationship between the four boys who populate this book, and if I have any quibbles it's that Elaine, their female friend, should have had a bit more screen time. The ending wasn't happyy, and pretty much left the reader with a lot more questions than answers, but that's the way life is and I appreciate that Crutcher is honest about that without coming across as obnoxiously depressing.

[Hannah Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember which novel I read first--Stotan! or Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes--but it was one of the two that got me hooked on Chris Crutcher. I picked them up because they had swimmers on the front and then I proceeded to read them back-to-back.

I loved both Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Stotan!, but the comraderie among Walker, Nortie, Jeff, and Lion in that latter title is the reason that I probably prefer Stotan! I also really appreciate the character of Max. A bit edgy, yes, but he's a great role model for the boys. He knows how to listen and observe, and he doles out advice when the timing is right.

The only reason that I'm awarding this book four stars instead of five is because I do feel that the characterization of Jeff is a bit lacking... and some of Crutcher's humor is dated. The message is strong, though, and kids today are still able to connect to the story.

[Susan Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this book defies all the odds. I'm a person who couldn't be less interested in sports, but the bond of being swimming teammates is, for this quartet of young men, engrossing, convincing, and the perfect way to tell this story. I also find it wonderful that a book which touches on such painful topics as physical abuse, suicide, the loss of both parents in an accident, and fatal illness is told in such a humorous, believable, normal-kid voice. In some ways this makes the grief even more unbearable and yet at the same time places it on a manageable, comprehensible human scale. The book is about nothing less than how to live.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Chris Crutcher. I think one of the things I like best about his books are the friendships. In this case, it's a small swim team who are also great friends; they know when to ask questions, ask for help, and when to leave each other alone.

The swim team isn't big enough to compete in all events, but they qualify for the state finals in individual categories. In addition to this good news, there is also the bad; one of the guys becomes ill, and another is dealing with abuse in his family. But the friendship amongst these young men hold each other up, and make for an exciting state swimming championship!

[Rachel Klem · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main characters in the book "Stotan", by Chris Crutcher, are Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff. Walker is the narrator of the story and Frost High School's top distance swimmer. Walker has an older brother named Long John. He is in his thirties. Long John is lazy and doesn't take care of himself. He gets in trouble for drugs and drinking. Walker is always the one helping Long John out because he broke off the relationship with his parents. Walker's parents are older and don't show much interest in Walker's swimming or life. They let him do anything he wants and mind their own business.
Another main character is Nortie, he has a pretty rough life. When he was six, his older brother was thirteen. Their Dad would come home from work and drink. He would abuse and hit Nortie, his older brother and Mom. Nortie's older brother could not take anymore of his Dad's abusive actions and decided to hang himself. Nortie still lives with both of his parents and gets beat up by his Dad for pointless things. Nortie is also a very strong and intense swimmer. He rips through the water to take his anger out on his Dad. Nortie worries the most on the team and gets anxious about certain tasks. Nortie is one of the sprinters of the team and usually swims the 200 medley and 100 yard freestyle.
Lion is also a main character. Lion is a low key and stress-free person. He is a great artist and is always sketching something new in his notebook. He is Frost High School's top butterflyer. His parents died in a bad car accident when he was young. Lion lives by himself in a condominium apartment and is on his own in life. He has his own unique Jeep that everyone rides shotgun in.
The last main character is Jeff. He is the man of the swim team. Jeff is ripped from head to toe and has unstoppable powers in the water. He is Frost's other top freestyle sprinter. He is part of the Marine Reserves and he knows history behind everything. He is a loving and fun friend to be around. Jeff soon becomes ill during a swim meet in Montana and can not compete in the last swim meet of the year.
The main problem of the book "Stotan" by Chris Crutcher is, it's the last high school swim season for Walker, Jeff, Nortie, and Lion. The four friends are the only members of the Frost High School swim team. It is getting close to Christmas break and their coach Max posts a paper on the swim team bullion board. It informs the swimmers about a Stotan Week during the first week of Christmas break. It is a voluntary event, in which would last from 8 A.M to 12 A.M.. Walker, Nortie, Jeff, and Lion all volunteer in this suspicious event. They soon find out a Stotan is a mix between a stoic and spartan, which can dominate anything. They don't know what to expect going into to this training and start to become anxious. The four young men will soon experience the most mentally and physically grueling week of their lives.
The main setting in "Stotan" by Chris Crutcher is at Frost High School’s Natatorium and Lion's apartment.
The book "Stotan" By Chris Crutcher is a great and easy novel to read. I like that the book is filled with drama and comedy. I also enjoy the twist of secrets that are unknown by the four friends until they leak out during Stotan Week. Throughout the story the narrator explains the concepts of being self-disciplined, hardworking and team oriented; and that these key factors are needed to achieve success."When one of us started to fade, the others were right there helping-pushing and pulling. Nothing was going to keep us from completing Stotan Week in style." and "For the rest of the day we did sets of 200's steamrollers ( one hard, one easy; two hard, one easy; three hard, one easy; up to ten and back), sprints, two trips to the Torture Lane, then wrapped it up with four more laps bear-walk." These quotes explain to the reader how intense swimming is. It also is very hard to go into training without knowing what to expect. You have to learn how to push through the grueling sets with a positive attitude, and realize all your time and hard work will pay off at the end of the season when States come around. How much would you sacrifice for your sport?

[Nana Dona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess because my kids were swimmers I loved this one especially.

p. 72-73: That night with my parents finally tucked away in their beds, I closed myself in the kitchen, quietly boiled a Coke bottle in water and deposited a wet washrag in the freezer. When the water came to a rolling boil and the rag was nearly stiff, I carefully removed the bottle with tongs, wrapped it in the freezing washrag and slipped the piping hot mouth over the mountainous zit-- the idea being that as the air inside cooled and contracted, it would suck the boiling core of the Vesuvian blemish whappo! Right into the bottle, rendering it dormant and harmless. As the air inside the bottle contracted my forehead drew tighter and tighter; my eyes bulged. The pimple didn't pop; just extended like a throbbing finger deeper and deeper into the neck of the bottle. It wasn't working. I pulled on the bottle to remove it, but it was sucking my face off my head... I gripped the bottle in both hands, closed my eyes, gritted my teeth and yanked. It popped free with a sound of two anteaters kisisng in an echo chamber ... I gazed into the mirror, the mouth of the bottle had left a deep purple ring around the angry sore, forming a perfect three-dimensional bull's eye right in the middle of my head.

[Irving · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Stotan! from one of the “free little libraries” located all over my hometown. I read the description and came on here to look at reviews and took it home with me.

The premise is four high school boys are in their last season of swimming. The program is going away once they graduate, so they’re all going all out wanting to leave a legacy. Their coach creates “Stotan Week” where they will be pushed to their limits, both physically and mentally. In the process, secrets will be revealed that will bring all four boys closer and leave them with a bond that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

It took me a bit to get into the book, I am not a swimmer myself but I appreciated their dedication and friendship. It was an easy read once I got into it and left me with a good feeling of friendship and working hard to achieve your goals. Most of all, I enjoyed that the book was relatable, it really could’ve been a book about any 4 boys in the country. It touches on more mature subjects like domestic violence, suicide, racism and unrequited romance. And while I didn’t mind that it doesn’t have the typical happy ending, because that’s life sadly, I didn’t like that it lacked closure for a few of the storylines

[Priscilla King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, funny, and sad story about a high school swimming team. The four boys, plus the girl who works out separately, spend their winter break furiously overtraining (a "Stotan" is a Stoic and a Spartan). Somehow, as these things often go in real life, in between all the time they spend churning through the water, they find themselves doing a lot of thinking about their lives, making decisions, bonding with one another, clarifying their real values and priorities for their future in and out of the water.

On rereading I think that even in this early book Crutcher didn't actually resist projecting his own political views onto all of his characters; they were just more moderate views than he wrote into some later books. All five swimmers in this book will be voting for Democrats when they're old enough to vote. Some attempt to understand other points of view, at some point in the author's career, might be nice.

Anyway I remembered "Stotan" as a good read when I was a Young Adult, and on rereading I think it still is one.

[Sean Pocock · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I liked about this book was how Max always stood up for the members of the swim team. When he heard O'Brian was bullying Nortie he threatened to hurt O'Brian if he continued to do so. He could get in a lot of trouble for that, considering hes a teacher and hes a student, which shows how much he cares for Nortie and the other swim team members. Also at the end, they were told they couldn't swim in the relay because they only had three and you needed four. They were missing their fourth, Jeff, because he was dying. So when they were told they couldn't swim they still swam in Jeff's honor, which made the meet director mad. Max stood up for them and said that it doesn't matter if they take away all the medals that they won at the meet, the only thing that mattered was that they swam for Jeff.

[Christina Belt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, easy to read, but not quite as incisive and gripping as other Chris Crutcher novels. This one is about a small swim team that can't meaningfully compete with others because of its small size. Their swim coach sets up a "Stotan Week," in which the boys push themselves to the limits with intense 4-hour workouts with the intensity of a Spartan and the mental tenacity of a Stoic. Throughout the week, the boys camp out in orphaned Lion Serbosek's apartment throughout the week and share Stotan stories about persevering through the pain in their own lives. Overall, it was a solid story with important lessons to share--but, compared to other Crutcher swimming stories (Staying Fat for Sarah Burnes, Whale Talk), I found it came up short.

[Ashlee Rowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not my favorite genre, I read Stotan for the sake of teaching it this year and loved it!

It's an excellently written piece of literature, and is a great piece to look at during the school year to teach some lovely lessons! Definitely worth the read if you aren't doing it for school, but if you're looking for one more book to teach this year, or a new one for next year, this is one book I would definitely recommend!

[Dr. Reno · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have read much Chris Crutcher, you can tell Stotan! is early in his career. Much like Loser's Bracket, I think if this was the first book of his I had read, it would have impacted me more; however to read it after others, especially Whale Talk (my all time favorite) and Deadline, this one seems like a warm up to those two. He still needs to taper a bit more here. Again, not horrible YA, but also not Crutcher's best.

[Brian McDonnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middle school read that came to mind recently. What I remember most is a scene of bear crawling through the snow and a broken rib from trying to jump off a washing mashing trying to put on swimming trunks.
A fun read that blends the line between the swimming and running mentalities. Lydiard would likely be equally humored as well as appalled at how his training practices are co-opted to the teen drama.

[Dayton Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a group of competitive swimmers Jeff, Lion, Walker, Nortie and their coach Max prepare for the Stotan week which the book is mostly structured around. The book is set in present day located in Northern America Idaho and Montana regions. This book has some touchy subjects and for people sensitive to certain topics I would recommend doing some research before reading. Someone who enjoys sports and teamwork and a roller coaster of emotions may really enjoy this book.

[Sam Hopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok Chris, another excellent book. I’m giving you 4 stars (4.5 doesn’t exist) because of the lack of humor. You tried, but it just wasn’t there for me this time and fell flat a number of times. Inbyour other books I was outright laughing out loud...not this time bud. However, I was in the pool with you the whole way and loved everything else. Looking forward to your next book. Keep’em comin’!

[Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first the book was a little hard for me to read. But then it got easier at I continued reading. The book will give you a mix of emotions and will have you sucked in at times. Overall the book was good but it was really annoying at the beginning when I didn't understand some of the stuff they were talking about.

[Hayden Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is ok. The characters are written well but I find myself confused often when to many characters are in a single moment. The book does explain what the characters are going thru well but the first 50ish pages or so are very boring. Past that they are ok. I don’t hate the book, I just don’t love it.

[Taylor M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because you could relate to it so easily. You could relate to their challenges the characters faced even if you don't participate on a swim team. They realized that hard work pays off and it does no matter if it physically or mentally.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

To this day, Stotan! is one of the best and most important books I've read. I'm not all that eloquent when it comes to speaking about why I enjoy something, but this is a book I enjoy reading every time the opportunity presents itself.

[Lily_E1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was yet another one of Chris Crutcher's amazing novels about the importants of friendship. I'd reccomend this book to anyone who wants to cry a bit over a book.