Whistle Me Home [Hardcover]

Barbara Wersba (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1997

Seventeen-year-old Noli feels as if she has found her soul mate when handsome, sensitive TJ moves to Sag Harbor, but even as their feelings deepen, individual secrets threaten their relationship.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Young adult fiction with gay or lesbian characters most often focuses on the emotional or social aspects of coming out. In a world in which gay teens have little support of visibility this focus is a good thing. But Whistle Me Home deals with gayness from another perspective. Noli, a smart, boyish teenage girl has fallen in love with T. J., the new boy at school. Cute, sensitive, and attentive, T. J. appears to be her soul mate, but much to Noli's dismay their intense relationship never becomes sexual. When T. J. finally confesses his homosexuality to her, Noli is both furious and crushed. Whistle Me Home deals carefully with people's secrets as well as with the pain that can be caused by unfulfilled sexual longing.

From Booklist

Gr. 9^-12 As the story begins, 17-year-old Noli surreptitiously watches her old boyfriend TJ with his new friend, Walker. Then, in one story-long flashback, she tells readers how she fell in love with TJ, how he seemed to fall in love with her, and how she discovered that he was gay. This is a story of immense strength and honesty; Wersba gets the relationship between Noli and TJ exactly right. Noli, who is insecure and has a drinking problem, is startled that a boy as wonderful as TJ could be attracted to her. TJ, however, wants a girl who's thin and boyish looking, and when Noli finally figures out why, her shock and devastation are palpable. In a brutal scene where all the deceits fall away, TJ tries to tell Noli that he loves her, which, in his own way, he surely does. Noli screams, "Do not use that word to me! You dirty faggot," and then wonders what she's done. The book has some problems. TJ is perfectly perfect, although this may be Wersba's way of showing how he's reflected in Noli's eyes, and a recurring dream of Noli's is used as a metaphor that is more irritating than illuminating. Yet Wersba's use of the present tense is inspired, giving an immediacy to events that, though in the past, are still crashing around in Noli's brain. And in the end, when TJ yet again begs to be her friend, and Nolie refuses, readers will understand that if she transforms their love into friendship, she will never be free of him. Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (March 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805048502
• ISBN-13: 978-0805048506
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,247,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a good romance book for young teenagers., December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Whistle Me Home (Hardcover)

Whistle Me Home is the one of the best books I have read in mySemantics class. This book allows the reader to experience howdifferent people find romance. This book demonstrated how Noli and TJ were able to bond and form a relationship, through troubled times of conflict, emotional distress, and differences in how each of them preceived things. For example, forming a relationship with someone else enables one to enjoy his or her life. Noli was able to stop her bad habits of: smoking and drinking vodka when she met TJ. TJ introduced a new aspect of her life. Throughout this book the reader will find that this book demonstrates how love overcomes one's bad habits. It was very unique how the author included details (everyday experiences for us) that Noil and TJ had. I would recommend this book to teenagers as well as middle aged adults. People under the age of thirteen could read this book, but not completely understand the whole affect of the book, as teenagers and adults of society understand this book today. This book should be a reading requirement for all teenagers.

2.0 out of 5 stars Whistle me home is only a so-so book. : (, March 4, 2008

By 

Anne Elliot "the bookworm" (texas,usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whistle Me Home (Hardcover)

I have read this book and the only person in it that I cared for is Noli.Her name is really Noelle but she prefers Noli.She has had only one friend at school until she meets Greek God TJ,(note my sarcasm).Noli has serious issues with her mother and as a result alcohol.She quits drinking for a while because TJ disapproves but starts again after she discovers he's gay(that's the BIG secret TJ's been hiding,if he had been an Hermaphrodite,now that would have been surprising.just what is it with Ms.Wersba and straight girls and gay guys anyway?).Noli soon finds out that TJ is far from perfect himself,his former peccadillos include,drugs,booze,and male prostitution,he was busted at a party with some other *guests*.Noli hits rock bottom which causes her to lose her puppy,given to her by TJ as Christmas/birthday present,but fortunately Noli recovers herself when she starts going to AA meetings and later finds her dog(the puppy had been found by a family and taken to Florida,when they returned they saw the lost puppy posters Noli had put up).She soon sees TJ again who wants to be her friend but she refuses,she knows she'll never be free of TJ if she accepts his offer of friendship.TJ is just this side of a being a little prick.He let's Noli believe that they could be more than friends,but I think that the real reason he chose her to be his buddy was because of her rather quirky way of dressing like a boy.When she attempts to make herself look more feminine,he gets angry with her,which not unnaturally confuses poor Noli.Noli is a sad,lonely,confused young girl,she feels unwanted and unloved until she meets TJ but the Golden Boy turns out to be made of clay.All he really cares about is himself and about being/not being gay.Noli is better off without him.This is an angst-ridden book with a bittersweet ending.Even though TJ is a sefish self-absorbed jerk,in a way Noli has become a better person for having known him.I have given this book two stars because of Noli.

4.0 out of 5 stars One Sided Love Story, February 2, 2007

By 

A. Luciano (Lowell, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whistle Me Home (Hardcover)

Noli is a high school student unhappy with her life. She has nothing to talk about with her father, her parents are distant from each other, and she and her mother do nothing but fight. Mostly they fight about the way Noli looks. She is a tomboy and refuses to dress in frilly girly clothes or to grow her hair long. Recently she has started drinking in order to make things a little more bearable.

On her first day of her junior year, Noli meets TJ. He is new and he is absolutely beautiful. His father is an author, so TJ is also smart, well read and worldly. He seems to know everything about everything, and he is also an athlete. There seems to be nothing he can't do, and Noli finds herself falling in love with him.

It is shocking to Noli that TJ is just as taken with her as she is with him. Soon they are spending every moment together and Noli's life is much better. She is certain TJ is her soulmate. However, there is one problem. She would like their relationship to be more physical, but he doesn't seem to want to do more than kiss her on the cheek. Despite her happiness at finding someone so perfect, Noli begins to suspect that something might be wrong.

I liked the fact that over the course of the book Noli was able to take more control over her life and her happiness. She was a stronger character at the end than at the beginning. It was unfortunate, though, that she and TJ could not be friends again.