Whalesinger - Hardcover

Katz, Welwyn Wilton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689505116 ISBN 13: 9780689505119

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 1991

Synopsis

A scientific field trip on the California coast, near the possible site of a sunken treasure ship from Francis Drake's expedition, brings together two teenagers, an emotionally isolated boy and a girl who is discovering she shares an empathic bond with two gray whales in the area.A scientific field trip on the California coast, near the possible site of a sunken treasure ship, brings together two teenagers, an emotionally isolated boy and a girl who is discovering she shares an empathic bond with two gray whales in the area

About 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.

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0689505116
• ISBN 13: 9780689505119
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 212