Whalesinger [Paperback]

Welwyn Wilton Katz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 1993

Hurt and angry after his brother's death while working for a conservation project everyone had warned him about, seventeen-year-old Nick escapes the pressures of his family in Vancouver by working as a research assistant for a professor whose work takes him to the beautiful Point Reyes coastline of California. There he finds to his horror that the professor's work is linked to the organization that Nick is convinced caused his brother's death. He's ready to quit until he meets Marty, whose quiet, self-effacing attitude draws Nick, despite himself. Raw with guilt over not saying goodbye to his brother, Nick finds himself telling Marty things he had never before confided in anyone. He even tells her about how he feels like the brother of Sir Francis Drake's best friend, whom Drake had murdered nearly five hundred years before. The deep emotions Nick feels echo through Marty to a mother and baby gray whale pair who, to Marty's astonished joy, have no trouble at all communicating with her despite the dyslexia that has kept her silent through all the years of her schooling. The two whales are summering where Drake had careened the Golden Hinde and cruelly abandoned his murdered friend's brother. Too much is occurring that makes the whale-history seem to be repeating itself like a chorus. Together Nick and Marty use her new communicative skill to put together the clues that link the old pirate's past to the present conservation project. When the mother whale sings, is it the chorus that changes history or history that summons forth the chorus? Either way, Nick and Marty gain a perspective on the conservation project that is very frightening. Meanwhile, this beautiful seacoast, which long ago was the epicentre for the great San Francisco earthquake, also resonates with whalesong, and soon it is impossible to be sure what causes what. This book's stunning conclusion brings all the strands of this remarkable story together as the mother whale sings an old song that is now also new. The magic of Whale Song moves Marty and Nick and the true story of Nick's dead brother to its own riveting and unforgettable ending, where everything is smoothed into its own kind of perfection, not empty of loss, but carrying its own new beginning within it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers may well need a harpoon to pin down the subplots that swoosh through this hybrid fantasy/romance/adventure/problem novel. A tentative bond forms between Marty, a keenly perceptive teen who thinks she's stupid (she's learning-disabled), and Nick, a high schooler filled with rage because his brother has been killed in a shipboard explosion. Both are spending the summer with a team of marine conservationists that includes Ray Pembroke, the man Nick irrationally blames for his brother's death. Marty magically communicates with a whale that fears a repetition of a terrible accident that occurred centuries before, when Sir Francis Drake and his band visited the area, the record of which has been preserved in "whale song." Then Marty and Nick suspect that Pembroke is conducting an illegal search for sunken treasure on one of Drake's ships. Will the whale's fears be realized? A veritable bouillabaisse of fishy plot developments--some lovemaking between Marty and Nick, a natural disaster or two, and what is almost literally a cliffhanger--further indicates that Katz ( Witchery Hill ) has gone overboard. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-- In a sturdy framework of the ecology and geology of Point Reyes and Drake's Bay, Katz threads an intricate warp that features a group of scientists engaged in research, a historical occurrence on Drake's ship, the migration pattern of the gray whale, and an impending earthquake and accompanying tsunami. Over and under this she weaves a complex pattern of science, personalities, a lost treasure, and a whale mother with an ailing baby. Nick, 17, is not yet over the death of his loved older brother. Marty, 16, has learning difficulties, but an innate empathy that appeals to Nick, and that allows her to communicate with the whale mother. Pembroke, the science-villain, seeks a treasure on a ship scuttled by Drake, indifferent to any ethical dilemmas involved. A lot goes on here, including a first-rate introduction to scientific methods. Clearly depicted are the strange behaviors often observed in animals just prior to a major earthquake, including the coupling of Nick and Marty (safe sex is practiced). Some readers might find Nick's response to Marty's confusion afterwards extremely simplistic (". . . But with you . . . it was beautiful. . ."). Have we heard that line before? While strands of the plot go slightly awry, and the development of some of the characters is contrived, the book is substantial enough to keep readers going. The final apocalyptic scenes outweigh some of the more lurid ones of the sunken ship and its long-buried cargo. The major characters, although battered, come through alive, and perhaps more whole to face their future. Intriguing. --Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (October 10, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888991916
• ISBN-13: 978-0888991911
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,100,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful book, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Whalesinger (Hardcover)

I first read this book in 7th grade, and I continue to pick it up and read it even now in College... Katz does an amazing job with her characters in this book, as well as others I've read by her. She captures the essence of the worries and angst a teen goes through. Adding her slant, the depression and isolation that the young girl feels, is her telepathic/empathic connection to a mother whale. This amazing book connects earths pollution problem, teenage life, and the idea of first love in a compelling format! READ THIS BOOK!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It wasn't that great, September 13, 2009

By 

Salome D'Souza "Sal" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whalesinger (Paperback)

This was just okay for me. The characters were interesting, and the plot was okay. One of the things I didn't like was when Marty and Nick see each other for the first time. I'll summarize it for you: THERE IS A GIRL! AND THERE IS A GUY! I WONDER WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN???? *WINK* *WINK*. The capitals were purposeful. They're so smitten with each other that they become-for lack of a better word, "twitterpated". It's ridiculous.

4.0 out of 5 stars Emotionally evoking descriptions, November 12, 2010

By 

J Subject (Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whalesinger (Paperback)

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.