Whalesinger

by Welwyn Wilton Katz

Hurt and angry after his brother’s tragic death, 17-year-old Nick escapes the pressures of his family in Vancouver by working as a research assistant for a conservation group on the beautiful Point Reyes coastline of California. There he meets Marty, and, to his surprise, finds himself drawn to her quiet, intense manner. Shy and intuitive, Marty discovers that she is able to communicate with a mother gray whale forced to summer nearby with her sick calf. When Nick and Marty learn that the conservation project is a front for a scheme to plunder the treasure of Sir Francis Drake’s sunken frigate, a tense confrontation occurs. Love, anger, hatred, and forgiveness fill this many-layered, deeply felt novel as it builds toward an unforgettable climax. This riveting environmental tale about two teenagers in love and their bond with a mother whale and her baby was written by award-winning Welwyn Wilton Katz, one of Canada's leading novelists for children. “A whale sings, history repeats itself, and two teenagers find what they most need in this haunting, complex story.” — Kirkus Reviews “The major characters, although battered, come through alive, and perhaps more whole, to face their future. Intriguing.”— School Library Journal

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Everyone has interests. Some people like my father had very few but he knew everything about them and received an OBE for the work he did on one of them during the second world war. Obviously this anecdote shows that having only a few interests isn't a bad thing. However, sometimes I think that the more things people are interested in, the more chance they have of becoming a traditionally published author. For example, here is a vastly incomplete list of my own interests: making jewelry (which I never thought would enter into my writing but is starting to, in the book I'm mentally reconstructing now), Rumi (because his poems are so beautiful and help me step back onto my own spiritual path if I've gone astray for a time), standing stones and dowsing and other new age tidbits as you will see in my book Sun God Moon Witch, playing the transverse flute and recorder and learning the Indian flute and the Japanese (zen) shakuhachi, folklore, legends, mythology [as most readers will see were resources in my books [book:False Face], The Third Magic,Witchery Hill Come Like Shadows), a writerly interest in character growth over certain excellent television series such as NCIS and Bones, yoga (both physical and its philosophical monism - a spiritual path I find fascinating), social issues such as prejudice and the changing of country boundaries because of it as shown in my books False Faceand Come Like Shadows, interspecies communication particularly with whales as in my book Whalesinger, climate change as has already outpaced my imagination as shown in my book Time Ghost, sketching, gorgeously impossible golf courses even though I don't play golf, Stonehenge and other standing stones as well as the math and science of prehistoric peoples, online shopping, murder mystery novels, J.S.Bach's and Mozart's music though mostly I prefer medieval music and some modern songs such as "You" by Fisher (album The Lovely Years),"Japanese Music Box" by Itsuki No Komoriuta (album "Forest" played by George Winston), "The Lady of Shalott" by Loreena McKennitt (album The Vist), "Leonard Cohen Live in London" (double album, all of it), "Someone to Watch Over Me" by Willie Nelson (album Stardust), "Autumn" by George Winston (whole album), "Fragile" by Jorane (The You and the Now), and "Words Can't Go There" by John Kaizan Neptune (album of same name).

Like you I love movies, nature, some TV, and I play bridge and even some video games (Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS: favourites Kingdom Hearts, and P4). Books, of course. We'll find out more about each other in my blog, I'm sure.

Reviews

[P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has been sitting in my stash for a while. I am glad I finally got to it.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a light read. It takes some turns that you don't expect. The ending is well written and ties up the loose ends nicely. I find that sometimes the ending of a book can either make or break-it in terms of how you remember the book and this book has a good ending.

[Jessica Subject · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marty is the travel-along babysitter for the Niven’s, marine biologists who have been contracted to do research in Point Reyes, California for the company Conservocean. With a learning disability that causes reading problems, Marty has come to believe her life is not worth much and plans to drop out of school as soon as possible.

Nick arrives in Point Reyes as a research assistant to Dr. Anderson, but unknown to him, the job was set up by his father. Nick blames the world for him older brother’s death and vows to never let himself get close to another person. His father believes sending Nick to the place his brother died will help him heal.

Then there is the mother grey whale whose song brings the two of them together.

The story is not whithout conflict as all events build up to a big catastrophe which no one expects. Will this summer heal Marty and Nick or will it send their lives in a downward spiral?

While some things mentioned in Whalesinger are outdated, since it was published in 1993, many of the issues Marty and Nick go through are still experienced by young adults today. Welwyn’s descriptions of people and places are emotionally evoking and easily draws the reader into the story. Whalesinger is a great young adult novel also suitable for any adult.

[Katarina Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book both does and doesn't do what you expect it to. You get a sense from the beginning that it is a story about forgiveness but the journey to that realisation, ironically, involves the unforeseeable twists of everyday routine. Everyday, yet also extraordinary. You might expect that with a girl who can communicate with whales as a main character.

The fact that this story blends the incredible so fluidly with the mundane is it's greatest strength. It reveals that perspective is a crucial part of experience and that, if we are not willing to see beyond ourselves, we end up repeating what has come before. Ultimately, despite the conflict among the human characters, it's a tale of coming together in a world that is at once spectacular and treacherous. Embracing the wonder of it while also recongising the danger.

This is an acknowledgement that is simple yet often overlooked and, particularly for young adults, is essential to understanding the world.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might entice you to read more about Sir Francis Drake. The geography of California and whales was interesting. But why do authors have to take the Lord's name in vane and throw in swearing even a little. There's a intimate scene that didn't need to be in there also. The book kept me reading to the end.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this book up on a whim in Ecuador since I just saw whales myself, I thought it would be a young adult book, kind of a quickie beach read but man, was I wrong. This book is way more amazing and beautifully written than the synopsis hinted at. I have many quotes already underlined and though I haven't finished it yet, I think this book is quickly becoming a favorite

[Leanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was one of my favourite juv. fic. books. I read it many times, and I remember how pleased I was when I bought my own copy.