Stotan! (Paperback)

by Chris Crutcher (Author) "We saw the notice about Stotan Week on the bulletin board just off the deep end of the pool after our early-morning workout today..." (more)
Key Phrases: ten pushups, Stotan Week, Long John, Marty O'Brian (more...)

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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (March 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440200806
• ISBN-13: 978-0440200802
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #760,969 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #26 in	Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Crutcher, Chris
  #26 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( C ) > Crutcher, Chris
  #76 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Exercise & Fitness > Swimming

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 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

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.

6 of 8 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless insights about friendship and life, June 12, 2006

By	flor alaranjada "orangeblossom9" (Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stotan! (Paperback)

I bought this book when I was still in high school, read it, then forgot all about it. I liked the story well enough, because it was about swimming. But years later while I was at university, I pulled this book out again and realized that there was much more to this story than swimming -- that, in fact, if there ever was a course on friendship, this book could be a primer. This is a Young Adults book, but even now that I'm out of university, I still like to read Stotan! once in a while to remind myself of what really matters in life.