Stotan! (Laurel-Leaf Contemporary Fiction) [Library Binding]

Chris Crutcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1988 | Series: Laurel-Leaf Contemporary Fiction

Stotan: A cross between a Stoic and a Spartin

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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To be a Stotan (a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan) is to push one's physical and emotional capabilities beyond the limit, as four high school swimmers find out when they accept the challenge of a week-long endurance test devised by their coach. Though it is swim team captain Walker Dupree who narrates, this is every bit as much an ensemble novel as it is four individual stories. Each young man pursues a personal goal, but together the team pursues demons outside the group, ranging from an "anonymous" neo-Nazi association distributing offensive newspapers to the abusive father of one of the boys, who drives his son to suicide. But a demon bigger than any individual or group effort comes along when illness strikes one of these Stotan young men. Then the team finds out that you can't always make sense of everything, you can only go after it with your best shot. Crutcher has written an involving, realistic novel; though it deals with tough, unsolvable issues it is often leavened with humor.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up A fine coming-of-age novel. Walker Dupree, the captain of Frost (Spokane, Wash.) High School's swim team, chronicles the senior year of the tight fraternity of young men who make up the team. Lionel, orphaned at 14, faces a sometimes hostile world alone; Nortie lives with an abusive father whom he loves but can never please; Jeff, a brash youth with everything to live for is terminally ill. Swim coach Max Il Song tests these four young men unmercifully during Stotan Week, but he gives them a reservoir of strength they more than need before their season is over. The boys are typical of many teenagers; they think a lot about sex; their language isn't always clean. They face difficult, adult situationsviolence, racial prejudice, Jeff's impending death. Crutcher's novel more than moves and entertains; it teaches. It teaches young people about responsibility, about courage and heroism, and ultimately about life itself. Stotan! is very, very, good. Jerry Flack, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding
• Publisher: Tandem Library (March 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833509616
• ISBN-13: 978-0833509611
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 3.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,603,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Crutcher grew up in Cascade, Idaho, and now lives in Spokane, Washington. He is the critically acclaimed author of six novels and a collection of short stories for teenagers, all chosen as ALA Best Books. In 2000, he was awarded the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring his lifetime contribution in writing for teens. Drawing on his experience as an athlete, teacher, family therapist, and child protection specialist, he unflinchingly writes about real and often-ignored issues that face teenagers today.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stotan! An Educator's Perspective, March 11, 2003

By 

Ms. Neff (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stotan! (Paperback)

As an educator I am always looking for some excellent young adult books to engage the readers in my classroom. Stotan! contains two of the elements that I look for when choosing a young adult book: a believable narrator students can connect to and plenty of exciting situations that teach students valuable lessons about life.

The first important element in a young adult book is that the book must have an authentic adolescent narrator. Because these books are written by authors who are no longer in their teens, it is important that the author knows how to make the characters sound like real adolescents in order to connect with the reader. In this area, Stotans author Chris Crutcher excels. While reading the novel, I felt as if I was directly plugged into the thoughts of the narrator of the story, a high-school swimming captain named Walker. During the novel, I got to experience Walkers reactions and feelings about his wish to make his senior year at high school a memorable one, his ambivalence about girlfriends and his dating struggles, his secret passion for a female swimmer and his emotional connections to his four best friends.

Another important element of Stotan! is that the book contains exciting events that teach valuable lessons. Stotan! follows the experiences of four best friends who are members of the Frost High School swimming team. The novel begins in November of their senior year when they are introduced to the concept of being both a Stoic and a Spartan, or Stotan, and ending with the last swimming meet of their high school career. During this time these friends undergo grueling tests of both physical and emotion endurance. They learn how to stay together and support each other even when confronted with physical abuse, terminal illness, and confusion about their future. While the situations and past histories of some of the characters may seem a little unrealistic, an example being the character of Lion living in his own apartment since his sophomore year, the comradeship and relationships among the young men is both realistic and touching. But because of some of the unbelievable or exaggerated circumstances of this novel, I would only recommend it to younger teenagers from thirteen to fourteen years old. So, if you are an educator who is looking for a novel to use in your freshman English class, I would recommend Stotan! The novel has a believable narrator, the story contains exciting situations and it subtlety teaches the importance of supporting and caring for your friends without being preachy.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and enjoyable, October 20, 2004

By 

D. Norman (Johnson City, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stotan! (Paperback)

This book was required for me to read in a college literature class and I was not looking forward to it because I do not enjoy reading sports books but I was surprisingly wrong. This book is a very fast read and is very poignant. There are 5 very relatable characters that each have unique stories that draw the reader in. Even though the parts about the swimming were a little foreign to me, they were not too confusing to throw you off. I could find people that I know that are in each of these characters and I am female so it is not just a boy book. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a good book and a wonderful story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stotan Swimming, June 8, 2010

By 

William B. Harker "Bill" (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stotan! (Paperback)

I am a high school English teacher and read this to my class of struggling readers. They liked this less than Deadline ... but I liked this book. Not quite as emotionally gripping as deadline ... but great especially if you are into swimming